Spring Fever, Summer Fun
by Ihsan997
Summary: For the first time in her life, Anathil is given a measure of responsibility in her family's business. She's also sent alongside Tan'jin, her childhood crush, but just her luck: the world is simply full of too many weird people for them to ever have time with each other. 12 chapters. F nelf who thinks she's a troll x M troll/nelf hybrid
1. At Home in Ratchet

**A/N: hello, dear readers! This is a story that's been rather fun to write; I hope it's just as fun to read. As a part of my Hearthglen continuum, this is one of many stories about the children of a night elf and a jungle troll who ran away to Ratchet to be together. For reference, this story takes place in the summer of year 53. According to the Warcraft timeline on Wowpedia, the Warlords of Draenor expansion was in the year 31; this is basically Azeroth twenty years from the current game expansions, in a time where factional wars have more or less died down and the planet isn't threatened by existential crises every few months.**

 **You DON'T need to read my other stories to understand this one; all significant details from the family's backstory will be revealed in the narrative itself. Enjoy!**

The twilight dwindled as dawn approached, signaling the end of another night in Ratchet. The port city was bustling as usual; life never slept in a settlement where very few people could grow their own food and the entire economy relied on trading for goods shipped in from elsewhere. Life never stopped or even slowed down, creating an exciting environment for one to grow up in – especially when you're from a family that's so odd anyway.

While most people in the residential areas were sleeping at that hour – locals tended to have more regular work schedules than the merchants – the two figures winding around the crowded streets of densely packed houses were wide awake. They looked so different from each other: the larger person, a big, blue, burly man that stood over eight and a half feet tall, sported a mohawk and beard that were a scarlet color greatly contrasting to his hide. His clothing was rather nondescript and even international in flavor, not being particular to any race of people, but the short, clipped tusks signaled his Darkspear roots. Loping along slowly in long strides, he mostly remained quiet as the two of them walked uphill on the cliffside roads leading toward the upper bluffs overlooking Ratchet. Patient, nearly upright in his posture and wearing sandals on his feet, he radiated a rather domesticated sort of aura, a far cry from his more savage brethren just a few hours by boat in the Echo Isles.

Bouncing next to him was a young ball of energy, still tall like all of her people but shorter and more slender than the man. A shock of hair the color of jade wafted in the wind as she walked and talked, not quite hyper but obviously young, especially by the standards of her people. The conservative dress she wore was similarly not unique enough to pin down her clothing style as particularly regional, but her glowing silver eyes gave away her Kaldorei heritage.

How ironic, then, that the jungle troll was the night elf girl's father. She might be adopted, but as she'd let any especially nosy or rude people, Khujand was not her foster father; he was the only real father in her eyes, and she was very much the daddy's girl in the family. As they continued to walk toward the larger properties on the upper bluffs above the city, she talked excitedly about the training in voodoo magic her father had just finished with her.

"Dad, dad, when we hex bad people, it's easiest to turn them into frogs, right?" Anathil asked hurriedly. The moment they returned home, the organized chaos that was their household would likely steal both of their attentions away, and the slow walk was her only chance to review what she'd learned.

Always grinning when listening to her talk about their shared profession, he patiently considered her words about the newfound powers which were old and familiar to him. "Yeah, that's tha simplest way. Leave turnin' them inta other things till later; ya got plenty of time ta improve." His Common was accented, though less than how it had been when she was a child; like most mixed households, Common was their main language, though she ironically spoke his language better than her mother's language.

"Okay. So let's say we find a bad frog. Like, a really bad frog that eats other frogs." She raised her long, feral eyebrows at him, thinking she'd finally found a question he couldn't answer. "Is it possible to hex that evil frog into a person?"

At that, he laughed out loud, his lips curling up around the sawed off knubs that used to be full length tusks a long time ago. "Hah! Well, I actually had ta do that once. That was way back in tha day, durin' tha Third War."

Anathil's imagination ran wild as she remembered stories her parents told her of the time when the world was a much more dangerous place, and wars seemed to break out every single year. "Oh, did you use an army of frog people to fight the demons?" she asked, so engrossed in the conversation that she didn't even notice when they began passing the other properties on the highest bluff above Ratchet.

"Naw, naw, nothin' like that. At tha time, we used it as a distraction. It wasn't really a nice thing ta do, but it created a diversion when Archimonde started hid ascent and saved a lotta injured grunts." Her father slowed down as he talked, and only then did she realize that their walk had already ended. "We're here, sweet pea. But listen, come on inta tha anteroom, ya mama and I need ya ta sit down for a discussion."

Even when faced with the large estate that her family called home, her mind couldn't focus on the architecture that she still loved even after having lived there for so long. Naturally grown by druids that were close family friends, the walled, three story estate was very much night elf in its style; the stone walls had been naturally raised with starlit lanterns, and the wooden house had the arches typical of her mother's people. She realized that she was more fortunate than most of the world's population, and never ceased to give thanks for her upbringing, but the prospect of something important her mother might want to say dragged her attention away from the visual aesthetic of the only safe place she'd ever known.

"Discussion…am I in trouble?" she asked, more curious than nervous.

"Naw, naw, daddy's girl doesn't hafta worry about anythin' like that. But ya mama has some guests and…hey, dear!"

Standing on the porch waiting for them was Cecilia, Anathil's mother; again, technically adoptive, but the family was sensitive about saying that. Anathil was just as beloved to them as were their biological children, and though not rotten, was probably more spoiled than the others. As ancient as the young woman could imagine, Cecilia was over twelve thousand years old; she had already been middle aged before the night elves' immortality had even begun, and ever since they'd become mortal again three decades before, she'd become less and less of a warrior of the night and more inclined toward civilian life. Grey haired aside from dark azure streaks dyed in, Cecilia was taller than many of the men of her kind but Anathil knew the former huntress only as the caring arms that had always held her. Cecilia's eyes had begun to lose their natural silver glow with time, but in total darkness she could see better than in the day, and she didn't have to strain to see who was coming.

"Thanil, come on in, dear," her mother called while waving her over. "The Bowleaves are here and we need to discuss a proposal with you."

At that bit of news, Anathil's heart raced. The Bowleaves were a couple of similar mixture – a dark troll woman married to a night elf man – and were also the business partners of the Hearthglens. Their families had always been close, and Anathil and her siblings had grown up with the Bowleaves' only son. "Ah, I'm coming!" Anathil replied cheerily, memories of her still relatively recent childhood causing her to have a giddy grin. Before her father could even catch up, she'd entered the sitting room where the family received guests and found the two people in question there.

Anjula, a dark troll of a tribe that had allied to the night elves during the Third War, sat on one of the low couches lining the wall, her naturally charcoal grey hair in long braids as she sipped an herbal drink that the two families produced and shipped. Melas, the man of the family, was reading some sort of a letter next to her, his blue-black hair and beard gradually turning grey like Cecilia's. The two people who had been like a second pair of parents to her looked up as she entered, and Anjula even rose to greet here.

"Thanil, come here," Anjula said in Zandali, the language of most types of trolls. Her dialect was different from Khujand's, but considering the fact that Anathil spoke Zandali far better than she spoke Darnassian, it was easier for her to decipher. "It's been a good few months, hasn't it?"

In true tribal fashion, Anathil hugged the dark, dark purple colored woman warmly. "It has! I was beginning to wonder if the roast boar I cooked for you last time was really that bad," the youth laughed, much to the amusement of the two older women. Anathil made sure to turn to Melas, greeting the night elf man with a more conservative bow, always subconsciously conforming to the duality lived by both families. "Ishnu alah, Mister Bowleaf," Anathil said respectfully, botching the pronunciation of her Darnassian once again.

"You can just speak Zandali, Thanil," Melas replied with a wry smile. Her linguistic abilities had always been a running joke between the two families, and she took the jab from the older of the two men with a stride.

"Thanks," she chuckled while sitting down next to the chair Cecilia had chosen. Khujand grabbed a bunch of bananas that were left over after the family's latest sale and sat down on the other side of Anathil. "So what's this all about?" she asked.

Everyone was politely quiet for a moment, giving others the chance to speak before Anjula finally took the lead. "We have two separate customers in different locations that want samples very soon. As in, tomorrow," the Shadowtooth tribeswoman explained, speaking slowly for the sake of Cecilia (she knew eight languages, and even though Zandali was one of them, she spoke better than she listened). "One of them is in New Auberdine, in Darkshore, and the other is in a tourist resort in Thousand Needles called Laketop Park. We need somebody to visit both potential buyers in one trip, and then return quickly in case shipments need to start right away."

"Doesn't auntie Irien usually handle the sales pitches?" the youth asked.

This time, a more uncomfortable silence ensued for a few seconds. "Your aunt doesn't like going to Darkshore…because of reasons," Anjula replied, and Anathil understood that it wasn't a subject to be discussed. "We've been discussing the matter with your parents, and really, we all think you did a great job when you went with Irien to that customer in the Port of Winterspring a few months back. And if you really do want to continue with the family business…which I think you do, right?"

"Absolutely!"

"Good, then this would be a great opportunity for you to practice unassisted. We've arranged for Valmar to go along with you, and at least in Darkshore, some local contacts will be able to meet you all there and help you settle at the inn."

Although the words were quite mundane, there was a split second where Anathil felt a small tingle between her eyes. In the back of her mind, there was a little sliver of hope that the two sets of parents might have fulfilled a small wish she'd kept secret, but she was too shy to ask directly. "All of us?" she asked, doing her best to sound innocent and unaware.

"Yes. Well, of course, Tan'jin will be the other half of the family business one day. We thought it would be a good opportunity for you both-"

"So when do we leave?" Anathil blurted out before her brain could even tell her lips to stop moving.

Ever amused by the behavior of the younger generation of the two families' children, Anjula and Melas chuckled deep in their throats at the social gaffe. Cecilia, however, didn't hide her embarrassment at the fact that her oldest daughter had interrupted a close family friend. In a way only a twelve thousand year old night elf mother could, she only twitched a single grey eyebrow in Anathil's direction without even turning her head. The youth sank in her chair, embarrassed as well and fearful that her eagerness to be sent on a trip with her childhood crush and no parental supervision would spoil the chances at what she'd thought would only be a dream.

"Like I said, these two customers want to have samples as soon as possible. Nobody else grows what we offer within a reasonable distance, but time is still of the essence." Anjula turned toward Melas for a moment, engaging in some sort of silent communication the druidic family often seemed to use when they wanted to share private words. "Your parents and us wanted the two of you to leave tomorrow evening. Valmar is aware and has all the logistic information for the trip. Obviously, he can't go as the sales representative himself to night elf and tauren customers, because…you know."

"Yes, his condition," Anathil said euphemistically regarding the families' undead friend. "He's very tolerant of intolerance."

"Well, all the same, he's going to function behind the scenes; think of this as a test for you and Tanny. Just remember to focus on the job; both customers are restaurants, so if you can nail these deals then it will be a great new account for us."

Her heart already thumping up into her throat, Anathil almost had to pinch herself to see if the arrangement really wasn't just a dream. "Of course, of course! I…we…I…we'll make everyone proud!"

The older people all smiled, and Melas continued looking over the letter postmarked from an address in New Auberdine. Cecilia leaned over toward Anathil and took her by the wrist. "If you'll all excuse us, I think the loaf of acorn bread is ready." Anjula, Melas and Khujand nodded and returned to a discussion of other customers they shipped home grown herbs and spices to, leaving the two night elf women to walk up the hall and into the kitchen.

Once there, Anathil saw that the bread was still a few minutes from being ready and started to worry. Her mother had served at huntress lodges during the Long Vigil, and she tended to speak in exact terms when it came to issues of time. All her hope began to transform into fear as she wondered if her infraction had resulted in the recension of the offer.

Putting on her best daddy's girl face, failing to realize that it didn't work with her mother. "Mama, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be sorry; just remember to be polite," Cecilia said quietly while pulling out some plates. In all of Anathil's twenty years of life, her mother had never raised her hand or her voice to the six Hearthglen siblings, but her silence was often just as scary. "I have the utmost confidence that the two of you could land this deal on your own; Valmar agreed to chaperone you two as a favor for us."

The younger elf couldn't prevent herself from frowning, and just pretended to look inside the fridge instead. "I know."

"Thanil…this is a business trip. You're beautiful and intelligent, and you know I love you, but respect the rules; we set them for all six of you for your own good."

"I know, mama. Separate hotel rooms for me and Tanny," Anathil sighed. For no good reason, a mischievous thought entered her mind, and she took another big risk when she failed to keep her mouth shut. "Or maybe two separate rooms in the same suite…"

Even Cecilia's seriousness couldn't help but be warmed by the youth's snicker, but the older elf did her best to keep a stiff upper lip. "No. Entirely separate rooms. Respect your family and respect yourself. There's a time and a place for everything." Once the bread was finished, Cecilia opened the oven and began to prepare some condiments for the bread.

Still pretending to look inside the fridge, Anathil felt hope take over again as her imagination ran more wild than it had in a long time. "The time and the place is now," she murmured giddily, making sure to speak in a Zandali dialect that her mother wouldn't decipher so easily.


	2. Orendil's Retreat

Soaring through the air in the far west of Ashenvale, Anathil began to feel the fatigue of travel. It certainly had been a long way, and they hadn't even met up with Tan'jin yet. This was going to be a tougher trip than she'd thought.

Many times over the years, Anathil had flown from Ratchet across the Barrens and up to visit her aunt, uncle and cousins in Astranaar; in fact, Anathil and all of her siblings, plus one of her two cousins, had been born at a maternity compound just outside of the large city. All of those previous trips had been leisurely, however, and were usually either to celebrate Winter Veil in the lands of the Kaldorei or to spend the occasional month or so at her relatives' hollowed out tree house on the burgeoning island city. This, however, was grueling; true to Anjula's word, the older generation had ushered Anathil on to her father's pterodactyl - conveniently named Pterrodax, after its specific subspecies - as soon as she'd finished breakfast. What followed was a nearly two day trip from Ratchet to Orendil's Retreat, with only a few brief stops for food and bathroom breaks at the Crossroads and Raynewood Retreat. And even then, they would only stop in Orendil's Retreat long enough to meet up with Tan'jin, give the mounts some rest and sip on some water. Cecilia hadn't been kidding when she'd warned that in order to run a business and be your own boss, you really had to be your own boss and force yourself to travel long distances without sleep and other unsavory activities.

There were some upsides, though. For the first time, Anathil had been trusted with a great deal of responsibility and not had anyone accompanying her in order to monitor her work; although Valmar knew the logistics of the job, she knew that he had been sent along for an entirely different reason. She did feel a bit jealous of the undead man as he flew tirelessly across from her - Cecilia had lended him her hippogriff so he could blend in a little better - but she was glad to have him along all the same. Even if his job was to chaperone her and Tan'jin, one never knew what dangers lurked in the woods, and on a part time basis Valmar was the fencing trainer for warriors in Ratchet.

Not that there was much to worry about. Although Anathil had been born during a time of great conflict, the stories of factional wars that she'd grown up with were just that: stories. Despite having joined the Alliance out of convenience, the night elves had recently dropped out of the faction - not even a decade ago, in fact - returning to their independent state as a separate nation known as the Sentinels. In tandem, the undead separated from the Horde and the Forsaken became another faction as well, returning the world to a state of four factions like it had been during the Third War. If anything, those changes had actually reduced factional conflict; when there were more than two superpowers, leaders were less likely to wage aggressive wars like the still detested Hellscream had once done.

As of on cue, a group of younger night elves flew by on their hippogriffs, doing a quick double take at Valmar before continuing without comment. Although he covered from head to toe in rather expensive fur and silk, and wore an aluminum mask to hide himself, the light blue glow of his eyes always gave away his undead state. Twenty years ago, for him to merely encounter a group of night elves would have meant a fight; today, it simply meant an odd look that was soon forgotten by all.

Also on cue were their mounts; Orendil's Retreat had grown into a sizeable city by the standards of the Sentinels, but it was entirely below the canopy, and no clearing of the trees opened up to it. Diving low, the pterodactyl and hippogriff entered through the most barely noticeable of opening through the thick branches and large leaves, soaring just one level below the canopy and in between the enormous trees. The town wasn't particularly busy but it saw a large amount of through traffic on the ground, and it was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle they'd encountered at the Crossroads. As they lowered to a stop at the flight point, Anathil could already feel her hip joints stiffen after so much riding.

Pterrodax landed, and the flight mistress kindly helped the biological night elf wearing the trappings of a Darkspear voodoo priestess dismount. "Thank you so much, big sister," she gasped in poor Darnassian to the woman after feeling like her ribcage had just shifted.

The more traditional looking Kaldorei eyed the oddly dressed lady with jade colored hair up and down. "Oh...um, you're welcome."

After ignoring his round of odd stares, Valmar paid the mistress for lodging their mounts for at least an hour and joined the young lady in his charge. Mentally switching back to Common, Anathil began to walk over toward a public sitting area between the hippogriff roost and a riding equipment store without even asking him what he wanted to do. "Okay, I don't see Tanny yet...could we please just rest for a moment?" Obviously she didn't really mean 'we' since the undead never grew tired, but Valmar gladly obliged.

"Yes, of course. If you'd like, you could close your eyes for a few minutes while I go in the lookout for him. He might have arrived, or he might still be on his way from Moonglade; I'll ask around for him."

"Thank you so much," she yawned, lying down on a bed of soft yet sturdy vines that had been grown into the shape of a cushion. She watched the undead man who had been like another uncle for her and her siblings walk away toward a patrolling sentry before nodding off, sleep overtaking her quickly after the long trip.

When Valmar's voice came back to her, it felt far too soon and she instinctively recoiled.

"Young mistress Anathil, it's time," he told her in his rather refined tone.

"What? What? I can't even close my eyes for a minute?" She stirred and looked up at him her vision a bit blurry after sleep. When he chuckled much in the way that her or Tan'jin's parents tended to do, she felt perplexed. "What's so funny?"

He reached his hand down to help her rise to a sitting position on the public vine couch. "Anathil, Tan'jin is two hours late. You've been asleep the entire time."

Confusion transformed into panic inside of her as she began to worry that Tan'jin would see her just after she'd woken up. "What? Oh, my goddess! Where is he?"

"He's exchanging the hippogriff he rented for another one right behind this garden. I came to wake you now because I thought you'd want to freshen up before greeting him-"

"Yes! Thank you so much!" she yelped while leaping up off the public couch and running to the fountain in the middle of the public garden. Looking at her reflection in the water, she quickly splashed her face and hair. Her hair looked like a mess, so she figured she might as well just get it wet and go for a freshly showered look. "I'll be there to greet him in a minute!"

As she tried her best to comb her hair in a way to make it look casually uncombed, she tried to remember the last time she'd seen Tan'jin. She saw his parents frequently, but he'd been undergoing special training to improve his rejuvenation spell for the past year and a half; that would mean she was still a teenager the last time she'd seen him, and he was only a few years older. It was a short period of time apart, but it was during a significant period. Questions about how much he'd changed - or, for that matter, how much she'd changed - floated through her mind as she straightened up the voodoo fetishes she wore like necklaces and walked out to meet him. Her heart was already pounding in her chest, and her apprehension increased as she realized that she'd be reunited with the boy she'd grown up with.

When she saw Valmar speaking to someone around the corner of the flight point platform, she paused. For a few brief seconds, shyness stung her as she laid eyes on him once again.

In her eyes, Tan'jin was magnificent. Taller than a night elf and shorter than a dark troll - or even a jungle troll for that matter, since Anjula was terribly short for her sub race - he stood an entire head and shoulders taller than her. Just like when he'd been a boy, his race was impossible to determine, and people would often ask him about his roots. His skin was dark purple, which could belong to either people; his hair was like a shade of grey so dark that it could almost be described as 'light black,' a color most people didn't know existed until they met Tan'jin. His hair and beard texture were somewhere in between elf and troll, just like his features: his cheekbones were high but not too high, and his jaw jutted forward but not by too much, sort of like her middle brother Zengu. Like Anathil's middle sister Issinia, Tan'jin had been born with tusks but they'd been removed by a dentist due to growing in an unnatural angle in relation to the shape of his skull. Coupled with the fact that both elves and trolls could have glowing amber eyes and the tattoo designs of a druid, and it made Tan'jin even more of an enigma. And Anathil absolutely loved that about him.

Oh, and he was buff as hell. She quite enjoyed that part as well. The movement of his uncovered abdominal muscles when he laughed almost mesmerized her, and she almost forgot that he and Valmar were technically waiting on her.

Practicing the best way to bat her eyelashes first, Anathil eventually came out from her hiding spot behind the platform and positioned herself behind Tan'jin strategically, sticking her hip out and doing her best to strike a pose. When Valmar continued to be engrossed in their conversation and failed to indicate her presence, she became a bit irritated and cleared her throat.

"And then I tried telling him...oh, Mister Bowleaf, it appears that our companion has finished her preparations," Valmar said once he finally noticed her presence.

In her mind, Tan'jin turned around in slow motion even though he actually didn't, and the folds of his fur hood and cowl rolled without wind as he faced her. A pair of eyes that were so familiar yet so mysterious at the same time peered down at her in surprise. Medium length eyebrows that looked similar to those of humans knitted together as she felt those two amber orbs drifting from her face and down. She didn't need to fake a smile as she grabbed ahold of his attention and kept it on her.

At one time, he'd been a gangly, awkward teenager just like her. She could remember times where they flung applesauce in each other's hair and tackled each other in the grass while rolling around. Oh how she wished to do one of those two things at that moment, and she didn't have any applesauce. Forearms and shins that had once been skinny and bony looked rather meaty now, and albeit short, he did have a full beard in the place where one or two curly hairs had once grown awkwardly on his chinny chin chin. The fur wrappings many apprenctice druids wore just barely covered the bottom of his chest and thighs, almost teasing her as she wondered how different those and other parts of his anatomy looked then. The way his gaze darted meekly from her silver eyes down to her bare, war painted midriff and back up again excited her in a way-

"-even listening to me?"

The refined voice practically jumped in the air between them, causing Anathil and Tan'jin both to flinch and shake the stars from their heads. Valmar didn't appear upset, but the authority figure certainly didn't enjoy being ignored.

"Uh...what?" Anathil mumbled, slightly overwhelmed as the noises of the forest that had faded away without her noticing suddenly reached her ears at normal volume again.

Patient but firm, Valmar restated his words for possibly the third time. "I said: are you all set for the last leg of the trip? We'll be meeting these resterauntuers after you two wake up tomorrow evening, and you'll need all the rest you can get until then."

Tan'jin looked completely dumbstruck, obviously not having expected to see the little girl who used to eat her sandwiches in circular patterns grown up into a woman. He mumbled something inaudible, and when his cheeks began to blush an even darker shade of purple, Anathil felt a warm rush upon the realization that she'd stunned him into silence.

"I...yes, I'm ready if you're ready," she replied, disappointment obvious in her voice.

"Alright then, let's not waste any time. If we hurry, we can make it to New Auberdine in just over three hours and you two can get some rest."

As Valmar ushered both youths back over toward their mounts, Anathil turned her head away and pretended to look at the forest beyond the settlement in order to hide her frown. Here she was face to face with Tan'jin for the first time in her adult life, and they wouldn't even get to spend any time with each other. Flying mounts traveled fast, and holding a conversation while flying would require them to slow down to an unreasonably slow speed in order to hear themselves over the wind.

Doubt crept into her head as the flight mistress brought out the three mounts...she hadn't even been able to speak one word to Tan'jin. Did he feel the same? Was she wasting her time? Heat began to rise in her temples as uncomfortable questions floated through her mind, all until she felt an external source of heat tickling her left side.

"Um...Thanil?" asked a voice which was familiar yet foreign. Deep, rugged and a world of difference from the boy she'd grown up with, the sound coming from Tan'jin's mouth surprised her quite a bit, though not as much as how incredibly warm she felt when he stood behind her.

Looking up at him, she saw an expression of uncertainty and nervousness in her face even greater than what she was feeling, and her heart already began to flutter as her doubt crashed into a wall of excitement that made her head swoon. "Y-yes..." She cleared her throat and straighten up her posture, forcing a great deal of false confidence to protect herself. "Yes...Tanny?" she answered, fighting off a grin when she called him by his nickname.

A wall of muscle stood before her, powerful and strong yet uneasy and unsure before her; her heart raced as she realized she was the cause of that, because it certainly wasn't a normal part of his personality. He hesitated, almost as if he wasn't sure of what he wanted to say. "May I?" he asked, offering one of his big hands to her.

Quickly, Anathil had to look away, fearing that her checks might flush right there. Neither side of their respective families typically engaged in such behavior; trolls of all varieties were generally far from gentlemen, and night elf women often found chivalry to be demeaning. It was a pleasant surprise, however, and when she placed her relatively dainty hand inside of his, she almost twitched at the intense tingling sensation that burned into her fingertips and palm.

"Why, thank you," she almost giggled, and she could already feel the nervous energy shaking in his hand just like in hers.

His palms were a bit calloused, but not excessively so, and the gentle firmness - or perhaps firm gentleness - caused her to feel suddenly very cold once he'd helped her onto her father's pterodactyl and then let go. She watched him mount the new hippogriff he'd traded for - he and his parents were all solely guardian druids, and since bears weren't known as sprinters, he was relegated to flying on a mount. The back of his shoulders and upper back were still covered by his cowl, and his lower back was partially obscured by the hippogriff's plume, and Anathil felt frustrated as she wasn't even able to subtly spy on him anymore.

"Alright. New Auberdine, here we come!" Valmar said in about as close as his controlled tone could near to 'cheery' as the three of them spurred their mounts forward and took to the skies.

Still tired even after two hours of rest, Anathil found it difficult to focus on much of anything as they flew. She wasn't as sore as before, but she was drowsy and a bit worried about the business deal, which heretofore she hadn't thought about much. She'd accompanied her adoptive aunt Irien on business deals before, but this would be her first time leading such a deal without an older person present; her family was obviously depending on her and Tan'jin, and the pressure mounted as the wind whipped by her long ears.

Thus, by the time the numerous wispy lights and spires of New Auberdine came into view a few miles away, Anathil felt thoroughly exhausted and just about ready to collapse. If there was one consolation, though, it was that the three hour flight seemed like less than one hour.

Far below them, a roving band of murlocs stalked in the bogs. Sightings were occasionally reported on both the east and west coasts of Kalimdor, but many of the clans of the barely sentient fish people had been beaten back. The presence of a few always signaled the presence of more, but obviously these creatures wouldn't risk moving any closer toward a Sentinel city.

Mischievousness possessed Anathil once more, and she tried yelling in Zandali across the wind. When Tan'jin didn't quite take notice, she hit him in the back with a harmless voodoo spell to get his attention. Despite the rush of air hitting both of them in the face, he looked back at her in confusion, leaving Valmar to fly ahead of both of them.

Wordlessly, she grinned and pointed to the murlocs far below. It was a long distance between them and the fish people, and she was taking a risk; if this didn't work out, she'd look rather silly. Focusing all of the shadow magic her father had taught her, she reached one of her hands out toward the five fish people, channeling the more sinister of the ley lines she could feel in the area. Mild panic set in when she couldn't sense the souls of the five murlocs at first, and she began to wonder if she was too far away to affect them.

Then, slowly but surely, two of the murlocs stopped and shook. Writhing on the ground, they began to shift and fold in on themselves painfully as the three others jumped back in shock. Anathil's hex spell succeeded, transforming them both into large grubs that sank into the murky waters. Noticing the three people flying above, the surviving murlocs ran along the ground, shaking their pointy sticks and growling in their guttural language.

Satisfied that she'd shown off her newfound powers to the man she'd once played army with using checkers, she grinned, feeling her spirit soar when Tan'jin laughed guiltily. As a druid, he probably didn't want to harm anything without cause – even creatures as vicious as murlocs – but as she'd make sure to tell him later, hexing didn't actually hurt anybody permanently.

Eventually they covered the last five miles or so and landed at New Auberdine. The port city had once been destroyed in a natural disaster just around the time that Tan'jin had been born, but one couldn't tell at all; it was almost as bustling as Ratchet. Rather than houses made from naturally hollowed out trees and bridges made of thick branches reaching across the canopy, New Auberdine was a city out in the open, made of numerous wooden buildings naturally grown but densely packed like any other metropolis. The familiar arches that so defined Kaldorei architecture reminded Anathil of her family's house, and the bits of sparingly grown moonstone for the spires and high outer walls made the place look like a true city rather than a town growing into and made from the forest.

Curiously, an aqua haired huntress was waiting at the flight point, eyeing the three of them as if they'd been expected. Selarin, a woman who Cecilia had served alongside during the fight to exile of the highborne over seven thousand years ago, had been alerted to their visit via a messenger – light hippogriff riders moving at twice the speed of Anathil, Tan'jin and Valmar's mounts for the purposes of express mail. Warm yet stern like Cecilia, Selarin waited patiently as the three landed, dismounted and paid the flight mistress for lodging.

"You're over two hours late," the older woman said in the typical dry, flat tone of a night elven sentry. "I was beginning to worry."

Valmar stepped in, and judging by how Selarin didn't recoil from the undead man speaking to her, Anathil guessed that she might have known him, or at least known of him, before. "Terribly sorry, officer; I hope we haven't caused any difficulty for you."

"No, not difficulty…but her mother would have my head if she found out that I wasn't able to locate her," Selarin replied while tipping her armored head toward Anathil. Regarding the two odd youths carefully, Anathil hoped that questions about whether she was adopted or not wouldn't be asked – people didn't know, but she still always felt a little offended when people asked if she was 'really' Cecilia and Khujand's daughter. "You both look very tired," Selarin said, allaying the young woman's fears.

"Look it, and feel it," Anathil laughed, glad that the first leg of the trip was finally over.

"Well, there are numerous inns here in town, but your mother's telegram insisted that you both stay at one called 'The Sleeper.' I've already reserved your rooms. Follow me, please."

As Selarin led the three of them a rather short distance away, the plural word rooms echoed in Anathil's mind. She was tired, flustered, worried, excited and confused all at the same time. Questions about the business meeting, about the rest of the trip, about herself, about the man whom she made sure to walk as closely to as possible without attracting attention all danced around her head, weighing on her even heavier due to lack of sleep. She wanted to talk to Valmar about the exact details of the potential customers' needs, talk to Selarin about what she knew of the restaurant scene in New Auberdine. But all she could find the energy to do was follow the old sentry toward the inn.

Once inside, the inn's porter – a young man Tan'jin's age who appeared tired himself – recognized Selarin and stepped forward. "The rooms are ready, big sister; please, allow me."

Valmar, who had been holding on to the supply bag that contained the spice and herb samples, staked out a spot in the lobby near a bookshelf and a table where other non Sentinel travelers – 'outlanders,' as they were referred to, including the Alliance members who had once been a part of the same faction – were sitting and chatting. "You two go up and get some rest; I'll keep watch over the merchandise. Once it's time to get ready, I'll wake you."

"Thank you so, so much mister Valmar, you're a tremendous help," Anathil called after him as she walked up the stairwell.

The undead man just nodded politely, ever watchful, never tiring and always willing to help. "Don't worry about it. As long as they have books here, I'll be fine."

Anathil wasn't able to reply, as the porter and Selarin were already halfway up the stairs. The stairwell and even the hallways were narrow and claustrophobia inducing, a far cry from traditional night elven construction despite the outer appearance of the building. Space was usually valued, but this place felt like a goblin motel. Not that Anathil minded; because it was easier to walk down the hallways single file, she was better able to walk in front of Tan'jin and slow down every few steps, feeling her tired heart pump fast again every time he almost walked in to her. Despite the pull of sleep on her mind, she still imagined what it would feel like if she just…stop moving completely. The simple leather and bone armor she wore left her lower back uncovered. Maybe he would just…accidentally step into her. Then his abs and chest would press against her back…and she could just lean into him-

"Hearthglen, watch where you're going!" Selarin ordered as she pulled Anathil out of the way of a wisp constructed marble vase on a tall wooden stand.

"Sorry! Sorry!" As Selarin pulled Anathil to the side with an iron grip, the younger elf spun around to see that Tan'jin and the porter had disappeared entirely. "Wait, where's Tanny?" she blurted out.

Selarin pulled her along, but gave her a quizzical look. "Who?"

"I mean…where is my companion?"

Just continuing down the long hall, Selarin didn't seem too suspicious, but Anathil instead traded one concern for another. "In the other side of the building like your mother requested," the old sentry replied as she stopped in front of a small door. "Here, this is where you'll be staying for the next two nights."

Anathil's heart might have sunk, but she was already so tired that acquiescing and just shuffling inside of the room was surprisingly easy. "Okay…big sister, thank you for taking care of all this."

Though Selarin seemed pleasant enough, she didn't walk Anathil inside the small, one person room, and there was a certain seriousness in her demeanor. "Your mother asked me to watch over you, and that's what I'm going to do. You won't be getting into any trouble while I'm here." There was an ominous sound to Selarin's words, and the way she stared at Anathil before shutting the door made the young woman want to know what exactly the telegram from her mother had said. "Good day."

"Good day," Anathil replied as the door shut. Crashing onto the bed without even inspecting the room, she felt the defiance bubble up inside despite her weariness. "But it will take more than just you to stop _me_ from getting into trouble."

She was unconscious by the end of her quiet retort, falling into dreams about how exactly she'd create a diversion for both Selarin and Valmar tomorrow night.


	3. New Auberdine

Anathil smoothed over the simple vest that she wore over her gown. The light blue silk felt incredible to the touch, and even the sleeveless, knee length gown of white linen underneath was rather nice. To wear clothes typical of night elves was a foreign feeling to the biological night elf but culturally mixed youth. In Ratchet, she wore the sort of layered, utilitarian, highly functional clothing that had become a sort of international style popularized by the neutral business organizations. Supposedly, such clothing was a combination of goblin and human styles, but it was difficult to know exactly; people of virtually every race often dressed the same when traveling outside of their countries. And being members of the Steamwheedle Cartel rather than any of the four political factions, Anathil's family often dressed in the nondescript, plain and simple smocks, dresses and trousers popular outside of the major factional cities.

Even when she visited her relatives in Astranaar, Anathil typically wore the leather and bone armor typical of the shadow priestesses of the Darkspear tribe. Factional wars had ended, and Anathil's extended family was such a racial mish mash that people were guaranteed to give them curious glances no matter what, so fitting in had never been one of her major concerns.

But she had to admit…the traditional clothing of her mother's race was rather comfy and stylish. She ran her hands up and down her berobed thighs one more time and missed another detail of what Valmar was saying as the three of them sat in the lobby of the inn.

"They project themselves as what?" Anathil asked, silently scolding herself for thinking so much about the fabric.

Patient like her parents, the undead gentleman didn't seem perturbed by her lack of focus. "The Sizzler projects themselves as the 'edgy' place to eat among the higher priced restaurants," Valmar explained again while carefully folding the specialized herb carrying bag closed. "They really aren't, but that doesn't matter – our concern is for you to sell them your families' herbs, not for them to sell the local crowd spicy food. So when you make the sales pitch, you need to project the fireweed you offer as the kind of spice that most people can't handle."

"In this context, most people refers to people who can't afford to eat at the Sizzler anyway, right?" Tan'jin asked intently. His furs and leathers had been shed for a sort of toga type of thing common among male night elf priests or simple educated workers. While druids were undoubtedly involved in the growing of all crops, the society still held on to certain values that nobody could explain, such as the attitude of some Kaldorei that druids weren't supposed to be merchants or people who pursued wealth at all. His amber eyes would give him away, of course, but Cecilia had insisted that the society was as focused on image as humans were, no matter how they projected themselves.

Projection. That was a word Anathil had grown used to hearing when they discussed business.

Apparently, Valmar had already answered the question and continued talking, and Anathil had to stop herself from trying to sneak looks at Tan'jin in her peripheral vision in order to focus on the conversation again. "So what you'll have to do is also imply to the management that your herbs are so edgy that most restaurants can't handle them, which is code for not being able to afford them." Valmar pulled a pencil out of his bag and began jotting numbers down on a sheet of paper he'd slipped onto the table. "So don't play hardball at first; the image you want is that you're so confident that you don't need to, so don't keep a big rang for haggling."

Tan'jin tilted his head forward to see the numbers on the paper, which Valmar was tracing so carefully that he wouldn't be able to notice any movement beyond his own hands. That same mischievousness entered into Anathil's mind again at the realization that, for a few precious seconds, she wasn't being watched.

Leaning forward further than was necessary in order to read the numbers, Anathil practically bent over in a sitting position, letting her gown pull tight against her butt and lower back. She even tilted her head just enough to the side that she would appear to be totally engrossed in the mathematics, and even twitched one of her ears slightly simply to grab Tan'jin's attention.

And…it worked. Her heart beat so quickly that she felt dizzy as his eyes raked her backside. He was totally hypnotized, unable to look away and, when she thought about it, technically under her control. The Hearthglens had a few family friends in Ratchet, but there were no men of suitable race, height or lifespan where they lived, and Anathil had largely grown up only reading about romance in novels. She'd always had a crush on Tan'jin, but they were children back then; the attraction was different back then, especially when they only saw each other at large gatherings or business meetings. In her mind, he already belonged to her; he just didn't know it yet.

But she was happy to let him know that. She shifted in her seat, letting the fabric pull against her backside just a little more tightly. She'd practiced that move in the mirror in her room at the inn, and she knew for sure that if he looked hard enough, he'd be able to see her underwear. And as she excitedly realized, he was giving her about as hard a look as he could without drawing attention to himself.

"So you guys really don't want to go outside of this range," Valmar said, breaking the spell that Anathil had cast on both Tan'jin and even herself.

The young man from a family even more conservative than hers practically jumped while in a sitting position, and looked positively embarrassed even though Valmar clearly hadn't noticed what they were doing. "What? Yes, yes, within the range," Tan'jin mumbled, running his hand through his hair in an attempt to cover his face from view – a tactic Anathil knew well. His embarrassment excited her even more, and she wanted to keep pushing, poking and prodding him until she could make him blush again, but logic prevailed and by some miracle she managed to pay attention to the matter at hand.

"I think – mister Valmar – that as long as we stick to the main point of projecting an edgy image, we should be fine," she suggested, straightening up into a more appropriate posture just before she spoke. "Image projection and price range are a big part of the deal – the rest will be handled by the sample."

"Absolutely. That's absolutely right – one shouldn't ever overthink these issues." Sliding the herb carrying bag over toward Anathil, Valmar stood in a signal that their meeting before the meeting had come to an end. "Listen, it's close to the meeting time, but take the long way to the restaurant. They were the ones who requested a sample, so you aren't desperate and you need to uphold an air of importance. Don't show up on time."

Ever the proper, well behaved young man that Anathil wanted so badly to corrupt, Tan'jin looked perplexed as they walked toward the front awning of the inn. "Isn't that a bit rude?"

"These are trendy people; they might actually respect rudeness. Oh, officer," Valmar said to Selarin when he found her already waiting in front of the inn, much to Anathil's shock. "I hope we didn't keep you waiting."

"Not at all; you're just on time, but we'll need to get going," the sentrywoman said while standing in the stiff posture typical of her, just ready to rain on any parade that tried to march on her turf.

"Alright, good to hear. Listen you two, I'll be waiting here at the inn once you're done. You're going to do great!"

"Thank you, mister Valmar," both of the two youths said as they joined Selarin on the cobblestone road.

Taking yet another risk, Anathil decided to stand up to the woman who her mother had appointed as a second, much less jovial chaperone, and cut Tan'jin off as he tried to walk next to the authority figure. Brushing against his arm with hers, Anathil reveled in the burning tingles and inserted herself in the middle, leaving Selarin to stare at her questioningly on one side and Tan'jin to inspect their surroundings obliviously on the other. For whatever reason Selarin let it slide, and resigned herself to walking on the outside and letting the two young people walk next to each other. It was a risk in more ways than one: although night elves were forest dwellers and were a far cry from the repressed attitude of the humans or draenei, Anathil's mother was well known, and had earned many contacts over her thousands of years of life. For better or for worse, Cecilia and Khujand both provided for their children much more sheltered lives than they had led, and insisted that the social conservatism was for Anathil and her siblings' own good.

But if she wasn't daring enough to let her hand brush against Tan'jin's, or perhaps try to catch and grip his pinky finger with hers, she was at least daring enough to sway her hips just enough for him to be aware of how close they were. It was a simple little game, but one that she loved, and by the time they reached the Sizzler it felt like they'd only crossed the street rather than half of the city of New Auberdine.

Selarin stopped in front of the steps leading up to the trendy, well lit restaurant. "I'm still on duty. I'll continue on my patrols, but I'll be in the area. When you two are finished…come find me." She gave them both the eye as she spoke the command, and didn't wait for them to confirm before she walked away and disappeared into the early nighttime crowds in the street.

Together but not alone, Anathil forced herself to enter her mental seriousness zone, and nodded for Tan'jin to follow her inside the restaurant. "Tanny, do you know what these owners look like?" she asked while stepping into the packed restaurant full of preppy looking ranger cadets judging each other's glaives and bows and ponytails.

Tall enough to see across the busy establishment, Tan'jin scanned the area but didn't seem to notice anybody who looked 'official.' "I…honestly don't know. My father just told me that-"

"Hey, are you the people with the spices?" asked a youngish looking server with spiced wine spilled on his apron. The young man was behind the main counter, but looked rather relaxed despite the busy atmosphere.

At first, neither the Hearthglen nor the Bowleaf knew who should talk first, and the server looked at them expectantly as they both waited for the other to talk. Eventually Tan'jin nodded, and the server assumed him to be the representative. "Yes, we're the growers and distributors from Ratchet."

"Oh great, the boss has been waiting for you guys. Right this way, please."

The young man led them through the kitchen – which was quite clean and organized – and to a pair of stairs at the back. A small upper hall that looked like it was reserved for parties lied empty on the third floor that night, and a few chairs were overturned as if there had been one hell of a party the night before. At the very end of the hall was a small balcony overlooking the local reflection pond and garden, and an obviously civilian man who wore the tabard of the Sentinels, but was most definitely not a night elf, sat there at a table that looked like both a private dining area and a work station.

"Sir, the herbalists are here," the server said to the busy and…furry looking owner of the restaurant.

The man looked up, his bearish features not matching any Anathil had seen before. He appeared preoccupied but clearly interested as he regarded them both for only a few seconds before honing his vision on the herb pouch. "Ah yes, I've been expecting you!" the man said in Common; like most people of mixed race, Anathil included, he appeared to speak it as his native language. "Please, have a seat." He motioned to the two chairs opposite him and cleared off some of the accounting work that he'd been doing.

"Thank you so much," Anathil said graciously while making sure that her chair wasn't too close to Tan'jin's for the sake of focus on the job. "This is quite a nice place you have here. I'm Anathil by the way, and my partner here is Tan'jin."

"They call me Riff," the furry mammalian man said while playing with his pen. "It wasn't my idea, but I like it; it has an edgy sound to it, don't you think?"

Anathil's ears twitched in tandem with Tan'jin's, for it was all they could do to avoid sharing a laugh. "That is does," Tan'jin replied while looking the man over.

The restaurant owner, on the other hand, didn't appear shy to laugh out loud. "Yes, my mother was a Blackwood, the biggest furbolg tribe nearby," Riff chuckled, obviously knowing that they were interested in his background. "My father was from Pandaria. I guess that makes me a pandolg." All three of them shared a laugh at his jovial nature, though he didn't ask the question back to him. Whether he was simply focused on business or had simply assumed them both to be full blooded night elves was unclear. "So, do you have the fireweed sample?"

Anathil had already stuck her thumb beneath the latch on her bag, and in a second she had a dried form of the herb ready and on the table. "Three leaves of it, at least. The leaves are typically used whole, whether in a curry sauce, or in rice; as a seasoning, it's easy to crush when dry, and I'm sure your people downstairs will make good use of it."

"Yes, yes, right," Riff said before promptly scooping up the leaves and handing it to the server. "Please, have them use this in our basic course and bring it up. Prioritize it over all the other orders."

"Right away sir," the young man said while hurrying downstairs with the leaves.

A second server passed him on her way up and set down a few vegetable juice drinks, all of them mixed and containing an odd assortment of mint and seasonings. Once settled in, Riff leaned back in his chair.

"While we wait for the samples to be complete, let's discuss the prospects and…see what sort of deal we can work out."

Later that night, Anathil and Tan'jin wandered out into the street, laughing and leaning on each other as they congratulated each other over a job well done. Her bag, emptied of herbs, contained a signed agreement regarding the exact amount to be shipped by air from Ratchet to New Auberdine each week. They'd only managed to negotiate for a price just at the very bottom of the range Valmar had suggested, but regardless, they'd landed their first deal without the assistance of anybody else.

Tan'jin almost fell over from laughter over a joke Riff had been telling them about a carp at his father's village that had the ability to count to at least eight, the kind of joke that would only make sense for someone who had been there. He grabbed onto a wisp powered lamp post and almost stumbled again despite being sober, so hard was the laughter they shared. Not intending anything nefarious at all, Anathil reached out and held him by the forearm to help him stabilize himself.

And then she became very aware of their surroundings.

His skin was so warm to the touch, so intense against her smooth hands that she almost had to let go. She stopped laughing well before he did, and simply admired the perfect whiteness of his teeth when he laughed out loud.

"Where's Selarin?" she asked almost rhetorically.

Not even bothering to look around, Tan'jin just shrugged. "I don't know…she might be a few streets over. We were in there for at least three hours…by the night, that guy was funny. I haven't laughed like that since that one time at your aunt's house."

Anathil stopped walking altogether, retaining her grip on his wrist for no reason. He stopped, looking down at her on the tail end of his laughing fit. He was still smiling, but there was a look in his eyes like something was wrong. "What time do you mean?" she asked. She didn't even attempt to hide her curiosity, letting one of her long, jade colored eyebrows raise.

"Ha! Well, you know, it was maybe five years ago, the last time we saw each other for more than half an hour. We were at your aunt's house one summer – our parents weren't there – and you made that…that face, when we spit mashed sweet potatoes at each other."

"What…really? You remember that?"

"Of course I remember that, how could I forget? We covered each other in sweet potatoes after your brothers and sisters ran away from us." He looked at her in pleasant confusion, a combination that was as mixed and enigmatic as everything else about him. "You remember, right? It was the summer where you wore that purple butterfly clip in your hair. The one that would kind of shine red when the daylight hit it just right."

Fast. Fast, fast, fast her heart pumped. Almost every blood vessel from her head to her toes felt like it was pumping at full blast. The stars felt like they all disappeared at that moment, leaving his two bright amber eyes as the only light she could see. Her lips pulled apart in a scheming grin, and she tightened her grip on his thick, meaty wrists as she pulled the increasingly sheepish young man close.

"Selarin's gone," Anathil whispered. "And you're coming with me."

His eyes grew wide, and she felt her adrenaline increase as she realized that her big, strong druid was completely disarmed by her. "Wait…what…whoa!"

He stumbled into line as she led him down the street, far away from the area that Selarin said she'd be patrolling, and toward the least guarded of th exits from New Auberdine's outer walls.


	4. So Close

"Thanil, slow down! Where are you taking us!"

Over the river and through the woods, Anathil led Tan'jin on a winding path away from the main highway that ran from north to south across Darkshore. The beginning of the forest started just on the other side of the highway that was paved with moon blessed stones, though the cypress trees were interspersed with the tall stalks of swamp plants. Anathil didn't know what those plants were called - nor did she care - but they were even taller than Tan'jin, which was all she cared about.

"Follow me!" she ordered giddily for at least the fourth time as she dragged him into the underbrush, and thus out of view of any passersby who maybe, just maybe, were old enough to have met her mother at some point and thus raise an alarm.

Anathil couldn't even fight the grin spreading across her face as she squeezed Tan'jin's wrist and finally, after so many years, had her time alone with him. Blood coursed through her veins and even pumped up into her long ears, partially drowning out the sounds of the swamp around them. Every step she took as they ran was frantic, sending more waves of excitement through her as she snickered in celebration of having flouted the rules. She wasn't even planning what exactly she'd do once they reached a suitably secluded destination; the act of escape alone was almost enough for her.

The marshland in southern Darkshore was quite beautiful, in a way. Slowly flowing waters wound like a maze around the few exposed patches of land, leaving only a few trails to use as bridges. Wisps floated around, illuminating the area under the billowy canopy of oversized cypress trees and providing an ethereal light that changed the colors of everything in the otherwise dark environment.

Eventually, Tan'jin tried to slow down. He was strong enough to yank her back if he wanted, and the fact that he didn't sent Anathil's heart racing even more. Deep down, she knew he wanted this, even if he didn't know he wanted this. After breaking through a wall of reeds, she slowed down as well, gazing upon an area of shallow ponds with wisps even swimming inside of them, illuminating the clean, sandy bottoms. This time when he bumped into her, she actually hadn't planned it, but she leaned back into his chest all the same and immediately felt a tingle up her spine so strong that it almost felt like a massage.

Holding to his upbringing as a more conservative druid, he stumbled backward and apologized profusely, garnering a little laugh from her. "Trust me, you don't need to apologize for that," she said, not finding a better line coming to her mind. Taking in their surroundings, she breathed in the humid air and stretched out her arms, and even spun around a few times to work out some of the adrenaline from their daring escape. "This is beautiful, isn't it?"

"It is, but...are we supposed to be out here?"

At first, he was still worried about what they'd just done, and so was she; even if Selarin had missed them that time, she'd eventually patrol again. Their absence would be noticed, but they could deal with that later. She hadn't come that far only to give up.

Mustering the best ominous, suggestive but not over the top voice she could, she walked slowly and kept her back to him most of the time, reveling in the way he couldn't take his eyes of of her. "Sometimes we just _need_ to rewrite the rules, Tanny. After all...we're being given more responsibility now, right?"

"Well...yeah, I guess."

For the first time in her life, she saw an eight foot tall man wring his hands anxiously, and it obviously wasn't from the surroundings; Darkshore was a notorious haunt of inexperienced adventurers, and they both had little to fear given their training. No, she knew the source of his anxiety: they were breaking the rules, not rewriting them. She was pushing him to do that, just like she would push him into one of those shallow pools if she had to.

"Since we're the ones who landed this deal, I figure we're entitled to a bit of rest and relaxation...don't you agree?" Limp wristed and graceful, she removed the herb bag and hung it from a branch that was hanging over the little bridge of grassy earth that they were walking on, letting her fingers run along the bark as if tickling the tree.

"Yes, um...yes, I agree. We did a great job back there, didn't we?" he asked as he began to follow her. She didn't tell him to, and he didn't know where she was going; he _wanted_ to.

She grinned wide as she hung from the branch, letting her sandals fall from her feet onto the grass as she did so. "Come on...don't you remember the old times, when we used to climb the trees in our garden?" she asked while twisting her grip around to catch him by surprise.

His rate of breathing had increased, causing the musculature of the side of his chest exposed by his garment to gently heave. It looked like a solid wall that couldn't be pushed over, though she still had half a mind to press her palm against it and give it a try. "Yeah, those were good times. I remember the time I got stuck in that agarwood tree your parents grow there."

When she loosened her grip on the tree and turned around again, he relaxed, and she did her best not to push him too hard...not yet. "Oh, I remember that tree! I had to help pull you out of it," she giggled the way she heard her mother laughing in front of her father when they didn't think anybody was looking.

There was a certain tightness in Tan'jin's breathing; her acute hearing easily picked it up. His heavier footsteps vibrated in the ground as he walked up next to her,meaning at the same wisp lit pond. There was a combination of shyness, apprehension but also wistful nostalgia in his eye, and the muscles in his neck and jaw loosened as he recalled an incident from at least a decade before.

"You did, and it was embarrassing at the time. We fell on top of each other. It was actually the first time I noticed that you always smell the same as agarwood. I guess I know where you would harvest the aroma from!"

Her mouth dropped open. He might or might not have continued talking; the pleasant hum in her ears blotted out any exact words he might have said. Slowly, she turned to see him and noticed that he'd stopped talking, but a pleasant smile was written all over that face, a face she'd watch grow up alongside her for her entire life. The side of him that was facing her had the toga wrapped around his shoulder, obscuring it from her view and sending her imagination into more wild fantasies of tearing it off of him and sinking her fangs into his trapezius. He turned to look at her as well - first obliviously, then in surprise, and then in unease.

Blood was in the water, and she was no longer responsible for her actions.

Ensuring that her bare forearm rubbed against his in a way that caused him to shiver, she removed the cloth vest that she'd been wearing. He looked at her quizzically until she flung it over the pond, knowing that his inexplicable chivalry would cause him to act without thinking.

"Oh no, what are you doing!" he cried out in the cutest way she could imagine, and reached a little too far.

With a splash, the man of the forest who was so agile on his feet stumbled over his own shyness and slipped, falling to the shallow pool. In desperation he let himself fall all the way under despite the shallow depth, reaching up with both hands in order to prevent her vest from getting even a drop of water on it. His garment was shaken wet, however, and it hugged against the surface of his body and left nothing to the imagination. As if her plan couldn't go any more smoothly, he seemed completely unaware, and stood up out of the water as he checked her vest for water damage. When she gasped at the sight that reminded her more of a chiseled sculpture or a far off dream, he again misunderstood her reaction.

"It's okay! I caught it before it fell it!" He reached forward and handed her the vest, looking totally confused at the way she focused on his midriff again. "Are you okay?"

Still admiring how his waist didn't have an ounce of body fat, she grinned like a little tart and casually tossed her vest on the grass. "That's a great idea, Tanny," she said in a voice so sultry that she almost felt it was a little excessive.

His medium length brows furrowed at her. "You mean...what do you mean?" he asked innocently.

Ignoring his puzzlement, she grabbed the bottom of her knee length dress and pulled it up unnecessarily high; she was only dipping her foot in the water as she flexed it, but the way his eyes nearly popped out of his head spurred her on. He knew full well that there was no reason for her to pull her dress more than halfway up her thigh just to stand ankle deep in the water, but he looked frozen in place.

In a flash, her eyes snapped up to catch him red handed as he ogled her, and those perfect abs tightened when he realized that she'd seen. "Like what you see?" she asked suggestively, basking in the increasingly tense nervous energy she could sense building up inside of him.

"I wasn't...I only saw...well, I didn't want your dress to get wet!"

She grinned and sucked air in between her predatorially clenched teeth like every Hearthglen woman did.

"Good idea."

Before he could say a word more, she pinched the hem of her dress in the most dainty way possible and pulled it up over her head. Every ounce of her being burned when he gasped at the lace underwear she'd been wearing beneath her dress - now the only article of clothing she was wearing. Tossing her dress in the grass as well, she was uncovered yet not the one who was exposed. His pulse raced visibly in his thick neck, and all she could think of was pressing her lips against it.

Walking lightly without kicking up any water, she stalked over to him. He stepped backward, his strict upbringing conflicting with the obvious desire she could see in his wide eyes, his heavily expanding chest and the thin, wet, and white fabric around his midsection. And when he stepped backward, she stepped forward, doing her best to demonstrate to him that it was on purpose. He pursed his lips in suppressed want, and when she raised an eyebrow at him suggestively, he stopped backing up and found himself waist deep in the middle of the pond.

But she didn't stop. Right up in front of him, right in his body heat, she moved, letting the fabric of her lace bra ever so slightly make contact with his soaked wet toga. He tried to talk, but was completely awestruck; his breathing grew ragged already, and she grinned so wide that her molar teeth showed when he raised his hands as if to wrap her in them only to let them sheepishly drop. His body visibly trembled as she put him on the edge of anticipation and kept him there, enjoying every millisecond of it.

Resting her elbows against his collar bone, she finally felt real significant contact with him for the first time in their adult lives. Every inch of her skin that touched his was on fire, and she was thankful that with her hands wrapped behind his head, he couldn't see that she was trembling just as much as him. Despite the near salivating in her mouth as she imagined crashing her lips into his, she still had the sense and control to nudge the toga off of his shoulder with her elbow. The weight of the soaked fabric fell quickly, leaving all of his upper body and part of his lower body exposed; she was too close to him to see which part, but by the night, she'd find out.

"Thanil..." he whispered. There was a softness in his voice she'd never heard before, all of it directed at her; she could almost see in his eyes as he internally confessed to a want that had been denied for so long. "We're...we're..."

Leaning so close to him that only the lace separated them, she tilted her chin up. Her mouth was next to his ear...there was so much she wanted to do, but she was given pause when he gave in to what his heart truly wanted. Strong hands, tough but not rough, gripped her slender waist, eliciting a shuddering breath from them both. He held her close, immolation her body as he he felt her flesh for the first time. She locked her arms around his neck even more tightly, pulling herself up and torturing him far more than had she simply blown into his ear or kissed the lobe.

"We're all grown up now..." she whispered back to him, nearly losing her composure at the way he squeezed her even more tightly between his big hands when her light breaths touched his ear. "...and we make our own rules."

There was nothing in all of existence other than the two of them. The stars disappeared once more, and even the twinkling wisps fell silent in respect for what they'd wanted to share for so, so long. The sounds of the forest even stopped, leaving only the two of them...

...the feelings they'd hidden...

...the beating of two hearts...

...and about fifteen pissed off, heavily armed murlocs that had been hiding in the bushes until that moment.

"Aggh rao rao rao!"


	5. Murloc Mayhem

The first murloc jumped, meeting Tan'jin's big fist as he punched the fish man away. Anathil shrieked, clinging to him in a non sexual way as she narrowly avoided another one that lunged at them. All hell broke loose as the other murlocs charged, and she became acutely reacquainted with the fact that while the two of them had been trained by their respective fathers, neither of them had been in a combat situation without one or both of their parents present before. And the fact that she was wearing nothing for armor except her skimpy underwear and he had actually become naked when the rest of his toga fell off. And that neither of them had any weapons. And that they'd intentionally found the most isolated part of the marsh.

Things weren't looking so good, she thought as the lankiest of the murlocs rolled into their legs and knocked them into the shallow pool of water whereby neither of them could do much other than flop around like...well, fish.

"Help! Help!" she shouted as she did a crab walk on all fours to avoid the oncoming fish people until she realized that they were encircling the two youths and charging from all directions.

"Over here!" Tan'jin yelled at the top of his lungs as he sat up in the water, drawing the attention to himself.

Like clockwork, the murlocs turned toward him and pounced, eliciting another shriek of protest from Anathil as she felt her heart stabbed. He hit s few of the fish people but was tackled to the ground by more than half of them, and panic consumed every other feeling that swelled up inside her.

" **Get off of him**!" she cried as she stumbled forward and began to channel her voodoo without even thinking.

Shooting from her core and out through her limbs so fast and so haphazardly that it was physically painful, the combination of white and black magic manifested at the same time that Tan'jin's smothered body began to emit green swirls of tendril like energy, and the primitive creatures actually slowed their attack in awe. It was just the diversion Anathil needed, and when the fel runes tattooed on her body glowed red, the fate of four of the murlocs who had been standing close to each other was sealed.

Red energy and ghostly apparitions flowed out of her body and forced their way into the souls of the murlocs, causing the others to jump away. Unlike the instance where she'd harassed the group of traveling murlocs from high in the sky, this time her hex spell was intense, focused and up close, and within two seconds the voodoo she'd called on had already finished the job, transforming the four murlocs into large night crawler worms that promptly sank into the water. There was no time for the survivors to regroup, as a deafening roar pierced the air and attracted the attention of all those nearby.

Knocking six of the murlocs off of him, Tan'jin leapt to all fours in bear form and staggered, trying to keep his balance in the water. His father Melas had trained both him and his mother, and was a powerful druid in his own right. However, Tan'jin was not Melas, and Anathil was not Khujand, and when another group of murlocs leapt, the two youths fumbled and struck out in panic, lacking the ferocity and focus of their parents.

Anathil hexed a rock into a gold nugget, Tan'jin bit off the dorsal fin of a murloc instead of its head, and the fish people just kept on coming. She stumbled in circles in the water hurling balls of negative voodoo energy as he furiously swatted at the murlocs that jumped at her, throwing imbalanced swipes and even failing to kill some of the fish people upon the first blow - which one would normally expect when a three foot tall fish with legs was smacked by a freaking bear. The four murlocs that Anathil had hexed quickly transformed back into murlocs and she had to hex them again in order to keep them busy. The fight was an absolute mess, and by the time they'd scratched their way to a victory, they were both a complete mess.

The last murloc fell to another swipe of Tan'jin's claws, and Anathil picked up the big rock - which had somehow broken her hex spell and turned back into a gold nugget despite being an inanimate object - and smashed the four worms beneath it before they would have time to regroup. Collapsing in the shallows, she surveyed the carnage around them. There were dead murlocs everywhere, the entire area stank like fish, she was covered in goo and he had numerous deep cuts and stab wounds in his thick hide. They just lied there panting for a moment, trying to catch their breath and come to terms with what had just happened. Eventually Tan'jin growled in pain and stood up, and Anatil remembered the numerous cuts from the teeth and pointy sticks of the murlocs.

"Tanny, I never learned how to heal; you're going to have to shift back so we can get you patched up," she said softly once she'd rested enough to speak normally.

As much as she cared about him, there was something about his bear form that helped her to be objective and put a measure of professional distance between the two of them. This way, he bore a curious mix of colors - his father could shift into a brown bear and his mother could shift into a black bear, leaving Tan'jin as a sort of mottled black and brown color that didn't occur naturally in real bears. Those expressive eyes were still his, but they were still on a large, ferocious animal; she didn't feel nearly as devastated as she did when he finally shifted back into his normal form. Behind a bush, of course.

"Ow!" he grunted as the green, swirly cloud proofed around him, leaving a man in the place of the beast. "Thanil, I'm so sorry, I tried my best-"

" **You're hurt**!" she cried, cutting him off and trying to run to him, though she slipped in the damp sand on the water's edge.

What hadn't seemed like a big deal in a bear broke her heart when she saw it on the man. There were slashes on his shoulders and thighs, and from the way he winced she surmised that his back had been scratched up as well. Although he didn't complain, she could almost feel the pain of every single scratch herself, and her eyes teared up a little as she blamed herself for having learned offensive magic only.

Frowning at her sympathetically, he waved his hands in the air. "Oh, don't cry, Thanil! I'm just glad you're okay, I'll be fine! See?" More green swirls surrounded him, and his body was covered in the rejuvenation spell he'd left to practice for the last five years. Coupled with the regeneration he'd inherited from his mother and the cuts actually sealed themselves shut rather quickly. "See? It's alright," he said, a deep concern laced in his deep voice as if he cared more about her sadness than his own injuries.

Sniffling but recovering from her blue mood rather easily, she smiled and stood up to brush the wet sand off of her. "I'm sorry I brought us out here," she laughed at herself and the situation.

"No, don't be sorry; you couldn't have known, sweetheart-"

All the sadness, fear and pain flowed out of a storm drain when he spoke. Sucking air in between her clenched teeth, Anathil looked up at him, her heart pounding again. "What was that?" she said, interrupting him and involuntarily batting her eyelashes.

An innocent confusion spread across his features, the sort of pure look that made her forget that they were surrounded by dead, smelly fish people and wish she could tackle him to the ground and do all sort of naughty things to him. "What was what?" he asked obliviously from behind the mulberry bushes that formed a barrier between his nakedness and her near nakedness.

Her eyes narrowed - all beyond her control - as she began to stalk forward again. She could almost hear her own pulse, and when he gulped visibly, that sense of excitement and control returned to her. "Say what you just said one more time," she whispered sultrily.

That nervous energy infected him again just as she saw his abs tighten in anticipation. As anxious as he was, he didn't back away, even when she practically stepped into the mulberry bush that was providing his only cover. His hands had been resting on two high branches of the berry bush as if for balance, and when she placed her hands on top of his, she could feel him shaking again. She gripped his big hands tightly as if she could hold him and prevent him from stepping away...not that he wanted to. She could practically feel it radiating from him; she'd already broken that barrier of conservatism, and the want shining in her eyes reflected in his.

"You couldn't have known..." he whispered nervously but with a measure of eagerness as well. He purses his lips as if preparing to literally be tackled to the ground, and very faintly, she could see in the expression on his chiseled features that he hoped for it. "...sweeheart."

That predatory grin returned to her as she bared her fangs at him, imagining what sort of things she'd do to him first - neither of them had ever done anything with anybody, and she was eager to try out what she'd read in the trashy 'romance' novels she'd borrowed from some of her older friends back in Ratchet. The leaves rustled as she tried to push the branches apart, and this time, she even felt him begin to step forward as if to meet her halfway, sending her pulse into a tailspin.

They drew near...they breathed heavily...and...

"Hearthglen! Bowleaf! I know you're out here!" Selarin yelled from a good distance away. Her metal boots were accompanied by the sound of another sentry on foot and a nightsabre as the irritated friend of Anathil's mother approached.

Squealing and stumbling over themselves, Anathil and Tan'jin dashed to splash water on whichever parts of themselves were stained in murloc blood and then gather their clothes that had been strewn about. As if to drive home the point that life was unfair, Anathil only got to see Tan'jin's bare butt for a few seconds before he'd pulled his toga thing on again, and by that time the nightsabre had run into view.

"Sorry! Selarin, we're so sorry! We saw some murlocs and we wanted to...uh...level our abilities!" Anathil called, causing both her and Tan'jin to snicker under their breath until the two armored women saw them and swiftly approached.

"What in the goddess' name did you two do here?" Selarin asked in the closest expression to what could be called a sneer on the ancient woman's stoic features. The other sentry kicked a murloc corpse over with her boot as she inspected the scene.

Tan'jin turned away uncomfortably. Although Anathil had broken a barrier between the two of him, his strict upbringing wouldn't allow him to lie, even to protect himself. Not that Cecilia and Khujand hadn't been strict when raising Anathil, but the twelve millennia old elf was still a rebel by Kaldorei standards; whether Cecilia had intended it or not, she'd instilled s bit of that in each of her daughters.

"Well, you know, it's like I said. We thought we could clear the area of these dangerous creatures, hone our skills and unwind after cinching the deal." Twirling the herb bag holding the signed agreement, Anathil practically pranced around like a certain draenei friend of her mother as she showed off the results of their efforts. "I'm sorry if we wandered too far away, honest, but we just thought we could have a little...fun, after we made the sale."

Her smirk when she pronounced the word 'fun' was taken as simple youthful foolishness by Selarin, even though Tan'jin became even more sheepish with the knowledge of what Anathil really meant. After inspecting the scene of the slaughter a few seconds more, Selarin snorted in displeasure.

"You two have been gone for three and a half hours. I don't know how long it actually took you to negotiate the deal, but either way, you're going back to the Sleeper right now." The nightsabre seemed to understand much of the conversation and began to nudge Tan'jin along the way, and the nameless sentrywoman actually took Anathil to lead her back to the city as Selarin continued to lecture them. "I've seen too many noobs get ganked out here and the two of you look like you almost ended up the same way. You need to get ready, because you're leaving in a few hours, and I'm going to think about whether I'll write to your mother about this or not."

"What! Sentinel Selarin, we were trying to valiantly rid the world of murlocs!" Anathil protested as Selarin's silent, armor clad assistant continued to drag her through the marshes and toward the starry lights of New Auberdine.

Though rattled and worried as well, Tan'jin was more concerned about travel plans. "Wait, we only got here yesterday, I thought we'd spend another night?"

Selarin just continued marching back toward civilization, refusing to turn back toward either of them. "Hearthglen, what you did was foolish no matter your intentions. Bowleaf, your travel companion met a highborne mage at the hotel lobby who, he convinced to port you and your mounts to New Taurajo, which would put you more than halfway toward your next destination. Now stop dawdling, you need to go get ready."

The news was technically...good. For the family business, at least. And Anathil would certainly need to thank Valmar later. But as she tried to steal glimpses of Tan'jin and felt her heart flutter at least a little at the way he pouted as much as she did, her mind kept drifting to what felt like a lost opportunity on the personal front that overshadowed the gained opportunity on the professional front.

Oh well...at least the next destination was at some sort of tourist destination. By a lake. In a place full of isolated cliff side dwellings, hot springs and empty mountain passes.

Hmm. Anathil smiled wryly as they walked back through the city walls of New Auberdine...perhaps there would be plenty more opportunities. And that time, no murlocs and none of her mother's friends would be hanging around to interrupt at the worst possible times. Nobody to stop _her_ from getting into trouble.


	6. Galek Clan Resort

As beautiful as the landscape of central Kalimdor was, Anathil had a hard time focusing as the group of three traveled. It was her home: she'd grown up in Ratchet and as a child, her family vacations that _weren't_ to the forested north of the continent to visit family members were virtually all in the arid lands that she'd called home. She knew the Barrens like the back of her hand despite the vast size of the region, and the landscape of Thousand Needles was just as similar in its arid beauty.

Regardless, she couldn't shake off her pouty sense of disappointment at the incident with the murlocs. Deep down inside she knew it wasn't that bad. She'd taken a calculated risk, and she now knew for sure that Tan'jin very much felt the same way about her that she did about him. They'd also nailed their first independent sale and would make their families proud. But that also put them one step closer to being back in Ratchet. She loved her city so much, but their parents had eyes and ears everywhere; there was simply no way to gain privacy, and knowing Tan'jin's parents, they would likely caution them about rushing in to any relationships - after all, both youths still had hundreds of years left to live, maybe even half a millennium.

But as Anathil let the wind whip through her hair once again, she felt that defiance rise up inside her. She and Tan'jin wouldn't be rushing in to anything; she'd known him all her life and understood him as well as she understood her own siblings. She tightened her grip on the leather reins of her father's pterodactyl.

"I will make this happen," she said into the wind as they crossed the mountains between the Barrens, Dustwallow Marsh and Thousand Needles.

Far off in the distance, the Splithoof Heights could be seen. A vast, mostly flat but sometimes uneven expanse, it was one of the few parts of Thousand Needles that _wasn't_ underwater and the home of the Galek clan of centaur. Their territory happened to be right on top of vast reserves of oil, and consequently the area was awash with money but without a proper infrastructure - the Galek had never moved beyond smelting iron ore at campfires and crudely fashioning dull blades before the world took an interest in their otherwise worthless land. Consequently, the clan had more money than they really knew what to do with, and large ventures such as the resort they were flying toward weren't totally unexpected.

At least they didn't have to fly so far this time, Anathil thought to herself as they passed over rows of gaudy, oversized centaur longhouses. The way from Ratchet to Orendil's Retreat had been horrendous; she'd always known that her and Tan'jin's parents, as well as aunt Irien, had strove hard in order to make a name for themselves, but the young shadow priestess had never imagined the simple art of selling spices and herbs to be so grueling. Their families also bred, raised and trained faerie dragons as well, teaching the magical creatures to patrol and defend locations from wily magic users and then selling them to governments and international organizations such as the Argent Crusade, but the customers always came to them and not the other way around. This business of traveling to meet customers abroad was difficult, which was part of why she was so grateful that Valmar had located that highborne mage who ported them most of the way back.

Her thoughts were given pause when she saw their destination. The name Laketop Park didn't quite make sense - there was a lake, but the resort wasn't on top of it - and the landscape was displeasing to her aesthetically trained eye. Rather than using the native elements of centaur architecture, the conglomerate that had built the resort had used the typical bland, nondescript style she'd grown used to seeing at the supposedly upscale, 'modern' buildings in Ratchet. None of the staff members appeared to be centaur or even tauren from her aerial view - the complex of walled buildings were still under construction but all of the workers were obviously foreign, mostly goblins and gnomes with a few humans, orcs and gnolls thrown into the mix. There were a few patches of grass forcibly cultivated by pouring inordinate amounts of desalinated water into the ground in imitation of a more temperate deciduous environment, and the entire place just looked so tacky and fake.

An attendant private flight point within the walled compound for the resort flagged them down, and the three of them skipped the dusty mess of nearly palatial centaur longhouses and cartel run businesses that marked the settlement. Their mounts touched down, and Anathil was surprised to see multiple attendants offering to carry their baggage.

"Do we have to pay for this?" she whispered to Valmar as their mounts were led away and their bags taken inside the largest of the four buildings inside the compound.

The undead man only chuckled, expressive and jolly despite his condition as always. "No, no, that's all part of the travel package. One doesn't simply rent rooms at the classier places like this - the services are included."

The three of them followed the attendants toward the main building, and Tan'jin simply looked in awe. "I've never seen anything like this...so much material waste, what with all this water they're using to grow springy grass in an arid land. Why not just grow cacti, or acacia? They'd suit the environment much better."

As if sensing the druid's ethical concerns, Valmar shook his head politely. "One thing that you both must learn is that, as long as your customers aren't using your herbs for drugs or something else illegal like that, then whatever they do isn't your business," he explained quietly as they waited for an ogre attendant wearing a gigantic tuxedo to open the glass doors for them. "If you worry about how your customers earn their money, then you'll never want to enter the business world. Just choose to live your life the way you want to and leave others to their wastefulness if that's what they truly want - you can't change people."

Scrunching up his nose in an adorable way that made Anathil want to bite it, Tan'jin just snorted in affirmation that he heard but appeared bothered. When they entered the lobby, however, the two youths actually gasped and stopped walking for a moment to look around.

An aquarium containing tropical fish had been built in the middle of a cafe where laborers were stocking the cabinets with really tiny cups that wouldn't be able to quench anybody's thirst. Drapes reaching up to the second floor were made from such a ridiculous amount of silk that Anathil wondered where they'd found it all, and she could have sworn that the reception counter was rimmed with eighteen carat gold. Valmar actually had to wave his hand in front of the two young people to get their attention again.

"Come on, the receptionist is staring at you. First impressions are important in places like this."

Anathil had to blink a few times before she remembered why they were there. "What? Right, let's check in!" She tried to correct her posture according to what some of the younger lived races referred to as 'ladylike' as she and Tan'jin followed Valmar over to the receptionist's booth.

Considering the fact that the resort technically hadn't opened for business yet, the orc receptionist behind the counter looked rather busy as he fumbled with numerous sheets of paper he was trying to organize in drawers and cabinets. Even when he noticed the three guests waiting and four attendants holding their bags, the young man barely slowed down. "Welcome to Laketop Park, where your pleasure is our business," the orc recited as if the slogan had been drilled into his head a hundred times. "Are you the vendors from Ratchet?"

Valmar motioned toward the two young people, and this time it was Tan'jin who managed to speak first. "Indeed we are. We weren't scheduled to meet with the food services management for another two nights, but we wanted to make sure that we arrived as soon as possible."

Although the young orc continued sliding around papers and stamping things, he apparently had switched to arrangements for their stay in a fluid, unnoticed motion and already as a form prepared and stamped for them. "That's quite alright, as our grand opening isn't scheduled for another two weeks; just remember that not all facilities are ready quite yet. Currently, the only guests are investors and other vendors. We'll need your signatures for check in, by the way." The young man slid a pen forward for the three of them to sign. "The tennis courts are functional, as is a patio bar and grille where you'll be meeting our representative for purchases. Since the main restaurant and the snack bar by the gallery aren't prepared yet, you'll have to eat your three meals at that patio."

Tan'jin looked decidedly uncomfortable with all the excess and extravagance, and even Anathil felt a little out of place. Valmar, however, tended to have a more expensive taste than any undead person Anathil had ever met, and seemed perfectly at home. "Thank you so much, sir. And am I to understand that my two young companions will have entirely separate rooms?" he asked, much to Anathil's consternation.

"But of course, just as the elder Misses Hearthglen and Bowleaf arranged. In fact, they're in different wings," the receptionist replied, garnering an angry frown from Anathil that went thankfully unnoticed by all. "By the way, since we aren't open to regular customers right now, the two who booked your rooms arranged for you to have access to the VIP lounge, mister...Valmar, I believe? Which works out since you...ahem, don't sleep."

The young man almost seemed nervous that the undead would take offense at the comment, but rather than feeling singled out, Valmar seemed about as ecstatic as someone whose heart didn't actually beat could be. "How thoughtful! Obviously, I have other responsibilities while here, but...well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a look before we finish checking in, right? Anathil, Tan'jin, since we have to wait for your bags to be brought up and your rooms to be prepared anyway would you perchance mind if I spend that period of time inspecting this VIP lounge? There might possibly be merchants who maybe would be potential customers at some point in the future."

At that, Anathil couldn't help but grin wide. Valmar had always been one of the authority figures in here life, almost like an uncle. To see him fibbing and making excuses to run and mingle with people of similar refined tastes was almost cute, or at least as cute as was possible for a person who was technically a sentient zombie, and she was happy to oblige. "I don't mind at all, mister Valmar. We'll be waiting down here anyway while they prepare."

"I don't mind either," Tan'jin added.

"Splendid! Reginald, would you mind showing our guest up to the VIP lounge?" the receptionist said to an ageing blood elven concierge who had the sort of reserved smile that spoke of many decades of experience meeting different people. It would be a surprise if they were even able to speak to Valmar at all during the whole trip if those two started sharing stories, Anathil thought to herself. The receptionist then turned to the four attendants as Valmar left with the similarly dressed concierge. "You four, please handle the rooms, alright?"

"Yeah boss," an orc twice the receptionist's age replied while disappearing toward another stairwell in the marble lobby.

Left to their own devices for at least ten minutes, the two youths wandered quietly as they tried to take in their surroundings. The atrium was so high in the circular building that Anathil felt dizzy just looking at it, and chose a comfy chair near the aquarium to sit down and try to rest her head. The sun had finally risen, which meant that it was bedtime for her and Tan'jin, and he looked just as weary as he sat next to her.

"Two days," he hummed in a deep, almost soothing sound that he didn't seem to realize sounded so pleasant.

"Two days," she repeated, watching their reflections in the glass of the aquarium.

There would be plenty of time for enjoying the resort and trying to peel Valmar away from his new friend to discuss the details of the sale. But when she felt Tan'jin's warm hand over hers, and felt the less intense but still pleasantly tingling fire in her skin as they held hands for the first time, she found it rather easy to sweep those questions and conversations aside. For the longest time, the two of them just sat like that, basking in the fact that even if they couldn't get privacy - yet - they at least knew where they stood in regard to each other.

A resort...before she nodded off in front of the fish, the last thing Anathil remembered was hatching another plot for their last chance at being alone as she stroked the top of his pinky finger with her thumb.


	7. The Weirdest Negotiation

The three of them sat on chairs in the hallway outside of the resort's VIP lounge. Even though the management had allowed them to book rooms at almost no charge and has covered all their meals, the lounge access was still specific to Valmar, and he couldn't negotiate access for the two youths. Thus, when he wasn't going for a stroll through the gallery, they had to knock on the lounge door and wait for the gnoll doorman to fetch their chaperone for them.

Surprisingly, the two nights spent at the resort had mostly been wholesome. The meals were fantastic and both Anathil and Tan'jin had copious amounts of fun embarrassing themselves as they tried to learn to play tennis. By the time the first morning came, they were frankly too tired to risk traveling between their two separate wings of the resort and end up being caught in the act by Valmar.

That being said...they were out of their home territory, and thus away from the eyes and ears of their parents. Pretty much any city on the continent that was north of Ratchet plus Gadgetzan and Feathermoon Stronghold further south bore high risks in terms of being seen and, as Anathil feared, being grounded or even separated from spending time alone with each other once they returned. But at Laketop Park, they only had Valmar to contend with; as long as they were in an obviously public place like the gallery, they could do what they wanted, and they spent those two nights simply talking and spending time with each other at ease in the knowledge that their parents or her sisters wouldn't be constantly following them and monitoring everything they did.

Thus, when the time for the sales pitch came - which was unfortunately in the morning - Anathil was at least able to pay attention.

Scribbling more details on a sheet of paper as he'd done in New Auberdine, Valmar tried to compile all the information they'd discussed. "Okay, so here's what we're looking at. Due to the work to stabalize Outland, obtaining anything that originates there is exceedingly difficult - your parents are some of the few people on Azeroth that cultivate felweed, ragveil and dreaming glory, which happen to be exactly what they need at various places in the resort. So right off the bat, what sort of advantages do you have?"

Alert and ready, Anathil jumped at the opportunity to respond. "We know that they don't have that many options," she replied proudly.

"Good. What else?"

"They already want what we have, so they probably want to sample our product to see if it's legit - not to decide if they want it or not," Tan'jin said.

"Great, great. Now, what about their needs here?"

Anathil examined a jade vase imported from the Jade Forest that looked like it cost a fortune. "They probably view a product as more valuable if it's more expensive, regardless of its actual value."

Valmar's light blue eyes glowed even more brightly for a moment. "Yes! Exactly! And that's huge in terms of knowing your customer," he beamed in an almost amusingly lively fashion. "Image is huge for these types of people, and it needs to be huge for you as well. So make sure ask for a huge price at first and be ready to haggle in the high end." Once again, he did some math and slid the sheet of paper over to them. "You really don't want to go outside of the upper part of this range."

Tan'jin began to examine the numbers, but Anathil continued looking at their undead chaperone. "Mister Valmar, there is no prejudice against the undead in places like this. Do you think you could help us this time?"

"No, I really can't," he said while shaking his head. "This tri is about the two of you taking charge. My friend Reginald and I can help from behind the scenes; we'll make sure that the management is sated and relaxed. But _you two_ must learn to nail these sales pitches on your own. In fact..." He pulled up the sleeve of his coat to check a designer, gnomish manufactured wristwatch. "...it's time for you two to go. And don't be late like with the Sizzler, these people might show up late but they'll expect you to be on time."

Tan'jin frowned as he helped Anathil stand up even though she didn't need it. "That's a bit hypocritical," he mumbled.

Valmar remained seated as they stood, waiting to get involved in his own way. "That's business. Remember, you want to make that sale; if putting up with double standards helps you to make the sale, then you must swallow your pride and do so."

Once they'd started on their way, shifting into business mode was relatively easy, and Anathil was even able to stand next to Tan'jin alone inside of a mechanical lift without letting her mind shift toward naughty ideas. Everything was numbers, game plans and confidence building as the two of them found a very natural groove to prepare and encourage each other. The trip from the VIP lounge down to the bar and grille next to a swimming pool that was still being filled likely took over ten minutes, but it felt like only two.

Once outside, they had to wear sunglasses due to the light of dawn - Valmar had insisted that they spend out of pocket to buy designer pairs for the sake of image - and waited for an attendant to show them to a shaded table to wait.

And wait they did, for nearly half an hour as they fought off sleep with black Westfall coffee as they waited for the purchase manager to show up. By the time the gaudily dressed native did so, the two youths had at least had more time to prepare their intricate and complicated sales pitch.

"Alright, it's time for my six o'clock," said the portly centaur man said in overly practiced Common as he approached the table. Flanked by two goblin assistants, the purchase manager appeared to be a person from the local Galek clan who had likely inherited his position through an agreement signed with the local governance - judging by his overpriced gold chains and the silk tarp he wore over his horselike half of his body, it likely wasn't due to education or shrewd business skills. "Ah, are these the ones we were expecting?" he said to his assistants as if the two long eared sales representatives couldn't hear him.

One of the nameless assistants checked a clipboard, looking very self important as she did so. "Yes, Sir Kalcheck, these are the young miss Hearthglen and mister Bowleaf."

"Let us commence!" Kalcheck announced while clapping his hands. Out from behind the bar, a gnoll attendant who had apparently been waiting around for that moment dragged out a specialized mat for the centaur manager to sit down on, and greetings were passed across the table as Kalcheck took his time settling in. Eventually there was a brief lull in the conversation after he ordered drinks for them without asking - both families were strictly dry, and never consumed alcohol except for Anathil's delinquent oldest brother - and launched into a series of pointless inquiries he almost appeared to recite. "So, how is your health?"

Tan'jin raised one of his medium length eyebrows at the overly personal question. "We're all fine, thanks," he answered for them both.

"And your families?"

"Our families are fine."

"So everybody is good?"

Anathil wiggled her ear at Tan'jin, a sign of both her amusement and confusion at the line of questioning, and fortunately he understood. "Yes, both of our families are doing fine," he answered politely.

"How do you find Thousand Needles?"

"Oh...well, we're located in the Barrens, so it feels rather familiar."

"Do you like the Barrens?"

When Tan'jin looked sincerely perplexed by the man's questions, Anathil jumped in. "Yes, it's such a majestic land, isn't it? It reminds me a lot of Thousand Needles," she said, perplexing Tan'jin even more.

Kalcheck, however, was thrilled. "I know, they're so similar, aren't they? They remind me of Desolace. Have you ever been to Desolace?"

"Both of us have, it's a very desolate place."

Rearing his head back to laugh, Kalcheck actually seemed to find the joke funny and even pounded his fist on the table, much to Tan'jin's confusion. "That's a good one because it sounds like the place's name!" he gut laughed while waving a human server over toward them. "Now...I believe you have some samples for us, yes?"

"That's correct, sir," Anathil replied while pulling their herb bag out. "All three are species originally from Outland; the Dark Portal has been on virtual lockdown for quite a few years, so all of our herbs are exceedingly hard to come buy." She pulled out the three samples and laid them on the table, preparing herself to explain what each one was. "Alright, this is enough here to form quite a few meals, or even drinks in the case of the dreaming glory."

Turning away from her to address the server, Kalcheck almost didn't appear to be listening. "Harvey, please have the kitchen whip up something nice with these. Perhaps a nice brunch - I'm starving!"

"Right away, sir," the human replied in a dull, disinterested tone. A second human passed by as he disappeared, setting down a tray of drinks that made both youths decidedly uncomfortable.

"To long life!" Kalcheck cheered while snatching up the largest of the three glasses.

Eyeing her glass suspiciously, Anathil noticed the lack of carbonation in the fruity drink. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a simple cocktail of freshly squeezed fruit juice. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement at the bar and saw that Valmar and Reginald were just around the corner of the little covered area, the undead half of the pair giving her a slight nod. She smiled, knowing he had probably made the save due to her family's behavioral restrictions - in this case, one that she didn't find smothering.

Over the next half an hour of back and forth circular discussions on just about every topic _except_ for the herbs, Kalcheck ended up downing several more drinks (at breakfast, of all times) while Anathil and Tan'jin just nursed their juices. The centaur must have had a strong stomach, though, and by the time the food arrived he barely even seemed tipsy. Although Anathil managed to take the casualness all in a stride, Tan'jin was practically fidgeting out of boredom by the time the server arrived with their food.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Kalcheck cheered as the large, mostly empty white plates were placed in front of them. "Now let's see how this turned out."

Excitement over what would be a late snack for the two nocturnal youths was quickly extinguished when Anathil saw what was sitting on her plate. A single egg white with a strawberry on top and a small amount of ragveil pollen sprinkled over it sat in the center of the plate. Some kind of a white sauce had been lightly squirted in a zig zag pattern over the entire plate and one leaf of felweed was almost used as a decoration at one corner.

"How lovely..." she said quietly, trying her best to sound interested.

"No worries...let's just try to eat the smallest bites we can," Tan'jin whispered to her in Zandali.

"My individual bites of food are bigger than this," she answered under her breath as she cut the tiniest sliver possible off the corner of the egg white.

Despite their misgivings, Kalcheck seemed ecstatic, and savored every minuscule bite in between sips of the various alcoholic beverages he seemed to enjoy at breakfast. It was almost like a test of patience, to see how long they could drag out the meal. Not that it didn't taste good; Anathil certainly enjoyed the single bite's worth of egg white, strawberry and home grown herbs; she just wished she could have eaten about fifteen more plates of it. Judging by the target demographic, however, she ventured a guess that such a meal would probably cost her life savings.

Leaning back on his cushion in satisfaction, Kalcheck took his time wiping his mouth with a bib before he spoke again. In a casual tone as if the decision were of no consequence, he surprised both youths.

"We'll need half a bushel of each herb every two weeks," he said, indicating that he was more or less already sold on the idea.

Straightening up and mentally bracing herself for the negotiations, Anathil pulled out a small slip of paper she had in her pocket. Jotting down a few equations as she estimated the price of such a deal, she made sure to slide the sheet over to Kalcheck without saying anything. The deal felt more dramatic that way, which seemed to fit considering the fact that she still felt uncomfortable asking for that amount of money from anybody.

As Kalcheck inspected the requested prices, Anathil began the opening monologue she and Tan'jin had agreed upon and even practiced when they were waiting for the purchase manager to show up. "Shipments can be sent on the same day every two weeks from the port of Ratchet; there are actually multiple ships sailing to the docks of Splithoof Heights below every single week, so-"

"Harvey, draft a contract for these people!" Kalcheck called out to the server with a snap of his fingers.

"Right away, sir."

For a few seconds, Anathil and Tan'jin both paused, almost not believing what had just taken place in front of them. The server hurried away and walked just inside the glass doors of the resort, where he hurried into an office and began writing on a mostly finished document. The two young sales representatives shared puzzled looked before Anathil looked back to Kalcheck.

"So...these are what the prices would be for each shipment every two weeks," she said cautiously as Kalcheck drank a little bit more.

"Here's to a good deal!" the centaur replied with a tip of his head and bushy eyebrows.

And with that, the deal was finished - the entire monologue and various retorts and replies that Anathil and Tan'jin had spent so much time coming up with had ended up being all for nothing. Out of courtesy and good business practice, they forced themselves to stay awake after requesting more of the coffee imported from Westfall and stayed with Kalcheck for another half an hour before excusing themselves.

The entire exchange had been a bit bizarre and unexpected. In fact, the sale seemed a bit too easy after all the preparation they'd done, and both of them almost felt as if they hadn't really experienced a real sale on their own aside from the Sizzler back at New Auberdine.

Anathil leaned close to Tan'jin as they entered the main building of the resort again, bumping into him in purpose when she realized that, technically, the business end of their trip was finished. "I think Valmar spiked the guy's drink."

Tan'jin gave her a funny look. "Can a drink that's already alcoholic be spiked?"

"I have no idea, but that sale was way too easy. It's like he'd already decided that he wanted to buy."

"I think that's what it was," Tan'jin replied. The two of them stood next to each other for a moment in an empty hallway at the back of the lobby. He almost looked sad as their eyes met, and even though she had no idea why he looked that way, she wanted to cup his cheeks in her hands anyway. "We have to go back to Ratchet after we wake up," he sighed.

"Back to our families again..." For a split second, the sadness struck her as well until her mischevious side took over again. "Tanny...I..." She paused short of talking about feelings, which she'd never done before aside from with her family. He looked down at her expectantly, and she got the feeling that there was a lot he wanted to say as well, but was waiting for her first. "We have one more day here. Valmar is busy. And just outside the compound, there's a lift to the beach down the cliff." Breaking through the melancholy, she wiggled her long eyebrows at him suggestively.

"The beach...oh...away from anyone who knows us!" He looked sheepish and a bit of the guilt his parents had instilled in him lingered, but the enthusiasm apparent in his voice won over. "But...the receptionist told us not to go outside of the compound yesterday. The locals often harass the rich people that have been traveling here for the other resorts and the oil fields."

Undaunted, Anathil let her hand brush up against his thigh ever so slightly as she pushed past him, as if she'd flipped a switch that sent her right out of business mode. "Too bad...I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath my dress that I'm worried is too tight and needed someone to take a look at it for me...I guess I'll have to venture down to the beach and just watch my reflection in the waves all alone..."

She didn't even look back to see him, but when she heard his nervous footsteps hurrying after her, she sucked the air in between her clenched teeth involuntarily. Being a procrastinator brought with it the advantage of being able to improvise quickly...and when they found an isolated part of the beach, she was sure she'd figure out all sorts of ideas.


	8. Girl Interrupted

The lift that led down from Splithoof Heights to the shore below had been relatively empty - only three local centaur had ridden down with them, and by and large their foray outside the compound had been without incident. A few of the locals stared at them oddly - there were very few non centaur wandering about outside of the walled exclusive zones for oil companies, service providers and tourist facilities - but aside from that nobody said anything. And being stared at wasn't so strange - Anathil had accompanied her aunt Irien to human cities such as New Theramore before, and ironically they tended to treat night elves as even more of an anamoly than orcs did despite the fact that, at least for a brief time, night elves and humans had once been a part of the same faction. All things considered, the centaur of the Galek clan weren't so bad.

The beach itself was atrocious, however. Garbage had been strewn about as if those wishing to go for a swim simply tossed their waste material in the sand without a second thought. It was filthy and awful, and only once they escaped the view of any other people were they able to also escape the sea of garbage. All the better - they needed some time alone that didn't involve fighting for their lives.

Anathil kicked her slippers off and wiggled her toes in the soft sand. "This isn't so different from the beach in Ratchet," she sighed comfortably as she felt the warmth of the sun on her skin for the first time in a long time - normally she would have been asleep more than an hour ago.

Mimicking her, Tan'jin kicked his sandals off near her slippers. "There's one difference: all the beaches that are left in Ratchet charge admission. This is free." At his insistence, they'd at least brought their weapons this time if not their armor, though she found it rather silly. Unbuckling his claw gauntlets, he let the least comfortable part of his gear fall to the sand next to her serpent ward, leaving him in the slacks and button up shirt he'd worn beneath his coat; he'd complained to Valmar about having to wear a coat in such warm weather, but the undead had insisted that they follow the social mores of international businessmen when dealing with such people.

From the corner of her eye, Anathil watched him undo the top buttons on his shirt, snorting in disappointment when he stopped at three. She had a clear view of his neck, part of his collar bones and the small indentation where they both met in the middle. International styles dictated that neutral businessmen - only the men - tucked their shirts into their pants the way goblins did. Virtually all other races on Azeroth found such habits strange save the human's of Gilneas, and images of her reaching down to remove his shirt from his pants for him wafted through her mind. He seemed entirely oblivious to the fact that she was checking him out, and he looked rather peaceful as he looked out over the inland sea of Thousand Needles, a place with a name that didn't make any sense to her.

But no matter. Creeping quietly in the sand, she didn't make a sound as she walked over to him and entered his personal space. He was startled when he noticed how close she'd moved to him, and even she felt the tension as she stood so near to him that she could have kissed that little indentation if she'd wanted to. And she certainly did want-

"Thanil...what are we?" he asked, breaking her train of thought.

His apprehension as he asked the question thrilled her, and she felt her heart rate accelerating before the even had time to properly consider the topic. A few days ago, they were childhood friends who hadn't seen each other in a few years. She'd always had a crush on him and she'd suspected he felt the same way, but it never went beyond that. She lived in Ratchet most of the year and stayed with her relatives in Astranaar during the holidays, and he lived in Moonglade most of the year and only visited Ratchet when his parents were managing their half of the business with her parents.

Not that she'd forgotten him...not by any definition of that word. It just hadn't been the right time for either of them. But maybe...

"What do you want us to be?" she asked cheekily, fishing for a reaction and stepping so close that she almost bumped into him again.

He didn't move back this time, and they hovered just millimeters in front of each other. Her grin became so wide that she couldn't fight it any longer, and a familiar tingle ran up her spine again. He gulped, and when he did she liked the way his Adam's apple shifted up and down. Trying to make him do that again, she pressed one of her dainty feet onto his, admiring how even the top of his foot appeared to have muscles in it. His breathing hitched already, and she almost couldn't pay attention to his response.

"Well, um, you know...I finished the most recent part of my training, and I'm a little more free now," he answered nervously, his voice quiet and wavering. That sense of control flowed back to her as she realized how strongly she could affect him merely by her closeness and the pitch of her voice, and it took all of her willpower not to tackle him to the sand right there. "And if we're going to take over the family business...because, you know, your sisters and brothers are focused on different things. Ahem. Well...that means I'll be around Ratchet a lot more often."

"Uh huh," she replied while eyeing him hungrily, doing her best to breathe on the exposed flesh around his collar bone and tickle it.

"So...well, I'll be around more often. And so will you. And, really, if we want to...I don't know, be something like friends, but not the same-"

"Not the same," she said in her best sultry voice, tilting her chin up to look at him and expose part of her own neck in order to get his mind on the same subject as hers.

Even though she hadn't pressed into him yet, his hands laid aplomb at his sides, and she could practically feel them trembling again already. Those shining amber eyes looked at her so longingly, and it wasn't strictly physical or emotional but a cocktail of both. For so long they'd never expressed how they'd felt in any way, and she saw in him a kind hearted and slightly repressed young man trying to push down his own barrier.

If he needed a little help, then she was happy to oblige. As he started to talk, she surreptitiously moved her hand near his wrist. "Thanil...I think we should move to the next - hey!"

Interrupting him, she hooked her fingers beneath a string bracelet he'd always worn since they were kids and stole it from him, prancing away in the sand as she waved it above her head. "I have your bracelet!" she taunted as she jogged away.

"Thanil, come on, the wind might blow it away!"

He tried to take it from her as she led him along, but she was one step ahead each time and always snatched it away. She could tell that he was still trying to be a perfect gentleman, always reaching around her and never touching her directly without her permission. Faster than she'd expected, though, he took ahold of her fingers lightly in an attempt to get his bracelet back, and she expected he'd simply let go and try to finish his sentence.

Turning everything she'd come to expect from him on its head, he wrapped one of his arms around her waist instead.

"Aaiiieeeee!" she squealed as he pulled her close.

His strong arms pressed against her lower back and she could even feel his hand grip her hip, causing her abdominal muscles to pull tight reflexively as her heart jumped up into her throat. On instinct, she leaned into him, pressing up against his chest and gripping his round shoulders. The bracelet may or may not have tumbled to the ground; she wouldn't know, as her mind was racing and her head was swooning far too quickly for her to even focus given the sudden spontaneous action from him, and when she looked up, she laughed when she saw the shocked look on his face.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me!" he said quickly, as if he were afraid he'd done something wrong.

"I know _exactly_ what came over you," she replied, giving him that predatory grin as she realized that she had him right where she wanted him.

Exploiting his nervousness, she pushed forward and took him by surprise. His feet twisted in the sand and the both tumbled to the ground, and he grabbed on to her protectively despite the fact that the ground posed no harm. She could feel the corded muscle of his midriff up against hers, and the sensation of the bikini top beneath her dress rubbing across her skin as his chest pressed against it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. His back hir the ground and she fell on top of him, feeling the sensation of the two of them lying on each other for the first time. She was lit on fire, and the world no longer made sense nor did it need to as a sort of door opened.

In a flash, she'd grabbed his strong wrists and squeezed, working furiously to pin him to the ground. The two of them laughed as he fell into step, resisting without even knowing why as she tried to keep him pinned down in the sand. The sensations of his muscled frame struggling and bucking up against hers was incredible, and she felt a more primal part of herself fighting to take control as she planted her knees firmly in the sand to better control him.

Digging his heels in, he elicited a crazed shriek from her as he bucked his hips up again and flipped her onto her side. Her limbs kicked up sand and she laughed as he moved over her, remaining between her legs so as not to press down on to her. Despite her efforts at pushing up against him with her hands, he easily overpowered her, and she loved every second of it as she felt an intense warmth from being underneath him. The outside of his thighs pressed against the inside of hers, and suddenly the will to resist consciously left her as something bubbled up inside. She no longer needed to think, and only had to feel as the two of them panted heavily and stared into each other's eyes.

He paused, anxious as they found themselves at the edge and waited for direction from her. If she wanted to slow down then she knew he would have slowed down without hesitation...which was part of what made her want to speed up. For the first time, she ran her fingers through his main, sliding her hand over his scalp and down the back of the neck. A shiver went up his spine and she felt it, feeling everything she was causing in him as he laid over her. Slipping her free hand onto his waist, she gripped the hard muscle and tried to pull him down to her, both loving his hesitation and feeling frustrated by it at the same time.

Want and need spurred her forward as she arched her back beneath him. "Kiss me," she whispered, feeling her heart race so wildly as she spoke that she was sure she wouldn't have been able to stand up had she tried.

That shy anxiety she loved so much flitted across his face again, and he licked his lips unconsciously in a way that drove her mad. She tried to push his head down to hers, nudging him beyond the brink as her legs began pumping up and down the outside of his thighs rhythmically.

"Kiss me," she repeated, even more quietly this time.

There was something else preoccupying his mind, though. His pause wasn't simple nervousness, and although he allowed himself to be pulled down to her, she could feel his attention slipping. "Thanil...I think-"

No longer able to be denied, a bit of the spoiled girl broke through. "Kiss me damnit!" she bellowed as she wrapped her legs around him.

"Wait, listen!" he replied while lying his head on the ground next to hers.

Frustrated and exhilarated, she turned her head sideways to see him, desperate to find out what she could do to pull him back to where she'd had him just a few seconds ago. Blood rushed into her long ears as she felt them warm up with desire, but the sound of her capillaries pumping was drowned out. Like a crashing meteor, another sound filled her ears and little by little she felt the sand beneath them shake.

Squealing through her nose in protest as he rose up to his knees, she followed his gaze and gasped as they looked merely half a mile down the beach. About thirty centaur beach goers were stampeding toward the lascivious couple as two sea giants chased after them.


	9. A Giant Bummer

Pulling her dress back down to her knees, Anathil cursed whoever had birthed the race of sea giants for ruining her fun. Dizziness wafted around in her head and her body was confused between a fight or flight response and it's still extant desire to jump Tan'jin right then and there. The sense o being caught in the act was amplified by the fact that they were in clear view of strangers. And so many of them. None of the centaur seemed to care about what any visitors were doing, however, when they were being chased by two angry looking sea giants. And by the looks on the giants' faces, Anathil surmised that the centaur had probably done something to piss them off.

Scrambling for their weapons and footwear, Tan'jin looked a little more panicked than usual. "Thanil, the lift is back in that same direction. Is there a way for us to hide?" he asked while helping her up even though she didn't need help.

"Not in broad daylight," she replied. The stampede was approaching, and that alone would be difficult to avoid on the narrow beach. Gears began turning in her mind. "Tanny, these centaur don't look like the maurading type; they look fat and happy from stipends the clan pays out to them. These sea giants might kill them."

His head hung low as if he'd just been assigned a major homework project the day before a vacation. "I know," he sighed. "It will also hurt the rest of their clan; news about sea giants rampaging along the beach will destroy the tourists this place is trying to attract." He looked her up and down, lingering a bit at her bare legs and then blinking in embarrassment and looking back up to her eyes. "We don't have any armor. And my hide isn't tough enough to take a swing from those boat masts they're wielding."

Flattered by his attention regardless of the situation, she shook her head at herself rather than his words. "Come on, think to what our parents taught us...not every battle is about taking a certain number of hits. Plus..." She looked down at the reptilian weapon in her hand and grinned. "Even a giant can get sick."

Confused at first, he quickly remembered her profession and understood. He took a deep breath, and that soft look of concern knit itself across his brow in a way that made her want to grab and hug him right there in the midst of the crisis. "Okay...I can distract them while you poison them, but then what?"

She tutted her tongue against the roof of her mouth, making him smile, which made her smile, and temporarily broke their focus. "Oh...uh...no wait, let them come after me first. I'll throw down the ward to poison them first, and they'll majorly slow down; then you can draw aggro but they'll never be able to catch you. And if we shrink them down to size..."

The light bulb went on inside his head. "Thanil, you're a genius! That's why I l-" He cut himself off at the L sound, jolting her entire system and causing the sound of the stampede to die away as she grabbed him by his biceps, pulling him close and nearly giving in to the urge right there.

"Why you what!" she yelled excitedly, unable to focus on anything else.

The two of them leaned forward and moved in, stupidly forgetting the thirty centaur running straight for them.

"Garunuraaaaa!" cried the first centaur that bumped into them in their native language, which sounded like a really warped form of Darnassian in a slightly dryad sort of accent.

"Hey, we're trying to share a moment!" she growled as suddenly the world around them existed again.

Parting around them, the crowd of civilized centaur ran for their lives, bumping into anybody in their path as all sense of logic and reason left them. It was infuriating; none of them even cared for each other and simply tried to gain ground and save themselves. They weren't particularly tall - Anathil herself was taller than all of them except one of the males - but because half of their bodies were horse, they were unusually heavy and more than one time she had to cling to Tan'jin to avoid falling down. The sea giants were a good few dozen yards behind, but we're gaining fast - despite their portly body types, they took very long strides and could outrun most ground based mounts. There were precious few moments to prepare.

Squeezing his biceps one last time just because, Anathil finally let go and felt her heart pounding for reasons other than passion. Green swirls filled her view as Tan'jin shifted into bear form, and soon enough he was running off to the side, with his back against the sheer cliffside and his face toward the sea. Knowing they'd have to give up ground for this to work, Anathil pulled out her serpent ward and began reciting the enchantment in Zandali.

The ward was made from actual jade and was the exact same color as her hair - her father had made sure of that when he'd fashioned and cursed (not blessed) it. The fel runes etched into its shaft began to glow bright red, and slowly yet surely the jade became split apart like scales, allowing the ward to move.

Two red eyes that reminded her of her father when he went berserk stared up at her. "What do you want?" the ward shaped like a cobra asked her in a hollow, dispassionate voice.

"Nauseate them, blind them and slow them down," she answered in Zandali, and promptly swung the ward in a downward arc without letting go.

In a second, the jade ward in her hand had become inanimate again, and a spectral version stood in the sand before her. Just as tall as she was, the ward made of red light reared up and hissed at the two approaching sea giants, threatening them a little bit but arousing their curiosity more than anything. Coupled with their likely assumption that an elf in a dress was an easier target, the two giants completely ignored the mottled black and brown bear to the other side, and began to stomp over toward Anathil as she kept the sea to her back.

The first of the two giants approaching opened its mouth to say something, but was met with a mouthful of venom as the serpent ward spit directly into the blue and green behemoth. Displaying a precision that even Selarin would probably be jealous of, the ward spit directly into the second giant's eyes before the first had even started screaming in rage, leaving the two startled and stumbling backward as more and more venom flew their way. A spectral cobra had no venom sac, and thus wouldn't ever run out of the stuff.

Lifting the ship mast that it wielded like a beating stick, the first giant brought the makeshift weapon down onto the spectral cobra's head, smashing it into glowing red pieces of light but not before taking a bite directly in the leg. Mere seconds passed as the stomachs of both giants began to rumble, and the first one even doubled over - not in pain, but in reaction to the sensation of feeling severely ill. The second one furiously wiped at its eyes, swinging with its own ship mast and knocking the first sea giant to one knee.

A roar rang out, and Tan'jin began drawing the aggression of both giants once they'd been poisoned. Though they couldn't see well, both of them could hear the challenging threat from the bear they'd previously ignored, and without hesitation they took the bait. The second giant began to chase him in a circle, but the first stumbled again, having taken both a bite and a shot of venom directly in the mouth. Before she could even start casting a spell, the most disgusting event of Anathil's entire life took place.

"Blech!" the first giant groaned as it threw up all over the beach.

"Eew! Eew! Dear goddess in the sky, make it stop!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she turned tail and fled from the results of her work. Forgetting the mortal danger that the giant still posed, her only thoughts focused on how soon she'd be able to burn her dress if even a single spot showed up on it.

Another roar caught her attention, and she looked forward to see Tan'jin leading the second giant in circles. The behemoth couldn't quite see, but it continuously struck the ground with its weapon, kicking up vast amounts of sand and frightening the young guardian druid enough that his little bear ears folded back behind his head. Panic and anger swelled up inside of her, and she unknowingly bared her fangs as a sort of protective instinct took over.

Chanting to the Loa that watched over her family, she began to cast the most significant hex of her life. The fel runes tattooed all over her body glowed red beneath her dress, and she felt the presence of the giant's soul - which, to her surprise, didn't feel larger or more massive than the soul of any other unintelligent being, and was certainly of lesser 'size,' so to speak, than hers. Channeling the voodoo energy, the saw the giant stop in its tracks and drop the ship mast, its ugly features twisting in confusion. The world suddenly looked larger and larger to it as both the giant's body and its clothing were surrounded by swirls of red energy separately from the ship mast, which went untouched. The swirls weren't so different from those that surrounded Tan'jin when he shifted aside from the color, and when those swirls cleared...the sea giant removed its hands from its face and saw that it looked exactly the same.

But only one foot tall.

Not even giving it the time to react, Tan'jin batted it with one of his paws, sending the small creature flying out across the ocean where it landed in the rip tide just off the shallows. It was a magnificent strike for a novice, and Anathil began to wonder if he'd started playing sports since he'd begun spending more time away from Ratchet. Images of him playing volleyball in a wet toga clouded her vision until thundering footsteps from the first giant, who had stood up when she wasn't looking.

Sick and frightened by what Anathil's serpent ward had done, the first giant ran back into the sea, disappearing beneath the waves as it retreated to whatever trench it had crawled up out of. Wary of a possible counterattack, she continued watching the waves sweep into the shore for a moment longer. Tan'jin shifted back into his normal form behind her and joined her at her side, watching and panting as the two of them fought off yet more sleep deprivation and post adrenaline rush exhaustion.

A slight tickle pulled her attention away from the sea, and she turned to find him clasping her hand in his. The two of them were standing close once more, and as tired as they both felt, she was at least able to bask in the warmth of his body as she looked up and cast her silver glow onto his face.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What's so funny?" he asked.

At first she didn't understand the question, but a second later she realized that she was grinning wide again. "You told me I'm a genius, and that's why you...what was the rest of what you were going to say?"

His royal purple skin blushed an even darker shade on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. She could tell that he knew exactly what he wanted to say, but that attractive nervousness teased them both once more as he sought the right words to say. She reached for him with her free hand, wanting to be as close as possible when he finally said those words out loud; the words she'd been waiting to hear for years...

"Well, there you two are!" called out the receptionist from the other day, earning himself a badge as the best pooper of parties on that side of Kalimdor. Two attendants were following him, and they didn't even seem to notice the ship mast sitting on the shore. "Good news; Reginald has arranged a portal back to Ratchet for you all!"

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Anathil grumbled in Zandali.


	10. Denied

Wide eyed, Anathil just stared at the unintentionally annoying secretary and his two gnomish attendants as she and Tan'jin both frowned. It felt like a real punch in the stomach, after they'd been so close.

"Reginald has numerous connections among the patrons of the VIP lounge, so he was able to call a small favor on behalf of mister Valmar. That way, all of you and your mounts won't have to fly anywhere. Isn't that fantastic?"

Pressure mounting, Anathil forced a smile, knowing that the young man believed he was delivering wonderful news. "We thank you for your efforts, and Reginald as well," she managed to say while pulling her hand out of Tan'jin's, lest the receptionist or either attendant make any comments in front of others.

"Alright, well, we came down to tell you because it's time - the mage casting the portal is already at the flight point, and Valmar had your baggage transported there," the young orc said. "Come now, let's go!"

Since there were no outward signs that a stampede or a giant battle had taken place, neither Anathil nor Tan'jin mentioned anything. To do so would only have caused undue stress on the staff just before their grand opening, and since the threat had been handled, they didn't see any reason to bring it up.

The walk to the rope and pulley powered lift was a silent one, as was the ride up. The two youths excused themselves by claiming they felt tired, and thankfully the receptionist bought it and seemed content to just watch the sea as they traveled to the top of the cliff. Once at the top, the party of five walked out into the settlements between the cliffside and the touristy area, taking their time as they moved around the morning foot traffic consisting of foreign laborers and locals wandering around with little else to do.

Anathil felt Tan'jin shift to look at her, and the sense of melancholy had returned to his deep voice. "Hey, why so blue? We found out that we make a great team, didn't we?" he asked quietly in Zandali.

She kicked a rock as the continued walking, hugging herself and trying not to frown so much. "We make the perfect team," she whispered in frustration.

"Come on, Thanil, please don't be sad. There will be other opportunities, right?"

Shaking her head, she couldn't prevent her disappointment from showing. "We don't know the future; this might be the only chance we get for a while, and I feel like other people always screwed it up for us."

Unable to find a proper retort, he just tried to find another solution. "Maybe we can just...tell our parents when we get back. Our families were friends before you were even born, and the business will always keep everybody together. What more could they want in an ideal match?"

"You know what both of our parents are like," she replied. "Especially yours. They'll just say, oh, you guys are still kids by our standards, wait until you're fifty years old before thinking about relationships. Why rush?" She intentionally made her voice deeper as she spoke, which didn't really match any of the four parents in question, but she was just too upset to focus on anything else at that point. "I'm tired of waiting. Even if we didn't see each other for a while, I..." She paused, feeling a sense of sudden surprise at how close she was to simply stating feelings she'd held inside for a long time.

Checking on the receptionist and attendants ahead of them to be sure that they couldn't understand the conversation, Tan'jin slowed down a bit and very subtly allowed a pained expression to work its way into his features. "Uh, sir, we'll catch up with you three inside of the compound, alright?" he said in Common. "We just need a minute."

"You probably have about five, but not more than that, I'd reckon," the young orc replied over his shoulder as he continued walking toward the security gate at the compound's wall.

Outside in the dusty, disorganized streets, there were a few rickety shops that greatly contrasted with the splendor of the resort, and Tan'jin took Anathil's little hand in hers and led her to a small side street where there were only a few cats roaming about. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he gave her a very solemn, worried but caring look, and was clearly experiencing a mix of emotions himself.

"Thanil...for so long, I've held inside what I felt. Sometimes, I even thought that maybe my training would take my mind away from you but it didn't. Every time I had to practice rending a dummy target I remembered the time we tore up your sister Issa's pillow as a joke. Every time I practiced growing marigolds in my regrowth class, I remembered the first time I plucked a flower from your own garden and gave it to you as if it were a surprise gift."

"It was," she said while smiling and pouting at the same time.

"No matter how long I spent in Moonglade, I never, ever forgot about you for one moment; I just never said anything because I was so afraid that you didn't feel the same, and that maybe you forgot about me in Ratchet."

"Never!"

"And never for me, right? So what I'm saying is...we _will_ be together one day, by hook or by crook. I don't know how soon, and I don't know how much caution our parents will encourage us to exercise, but no matter what, we will make this happen."

"But our parents are going to make us wait so long. I can already guess what they'll say."

"What's the alternative, Thanil? We can't keep this a secret; I've only just now returned from training and already they keep us monitored. Either way, they're going to know, and either way, we're going to be together one day; so why not just tell them?"

Pouting a little bit longer, Anathil tried to be optimistic, but her fear of being burned was too great. "What if your mom tells you to actually wait until you're, like, fifty? What do we do then?"

"Will you wait for me?"

There was such a seriousness in his eyes - without any sadness added - that she almost couldn't believe how easily he'd asked the question. Even though they were elves - half elf, in his case - they were both so young. They might live to be half a millennia old, but half a century was more than twice Anathil's lifespan; it seemed so far off, and the prospect of being denied for that long because of their parents' caution stung her.

But it didn't scare her.

"Yes," she sighed, feeling her ears droop as she did so. "I'd wait even longer than that...I only hope that you'd wait for me as well."

He reared his head back, almost looking offended at the insinuation. "Anathil...from the time we were small kids, I felt like you were the one for me. I don't know how to label kid feelings, but I was never interested in anybody else. And these past few days have been the greatest I've ever lived - even the murloc ambush. There's nobody else I could imagine myself being with - not in any time or place." He pulled her close, wrapping his big arms around her like a sort of shield against the world. "I love you, Anathil Hearthglen."

Reflexively, she buried her head in his chest, breathing him in and trying to cling as closely to him as possible. She could hear his heart beating as quickly as hers, and time almost stood still again like at Orendil's Retreat where she'd gotten a good look at him for the first time in a few years.

Like a burden being lifted from her shoulders, so much felt like it could be out in the open. The crush she'd kept to herself for fear of her family telling her she was too young to know what those words meant could be spoken of for what it was. Even if they had to wait, at least they knew they were both willing. And as much as the thought of having to wait so long hurt her, she could breathe a little easier knowing that they wouldn't wait forever.

She lifted her head up to look at him, and the world around them disappeared. "I love you too, Tan'jin Bowleaf."

Silver met amber and two hearts pumped in unison as they leaned close. That nervous energy she'd seen in him began to infect her as well, and she could feel her fingertips shake against his chest. She stood up on her tippy toes, moving in to meet him halfway as he leaned his head down...

"Come on, you two! It's time to go!"

The voice of the receptionist grated against her ears, and she bore her fangs and shut her eyes tight. Fortunately, she was facing away from the annoying orc, and Tan'jin chuckled softly at her reaction.

"Alright, we're coming," he sighed as the guy waved them over toward the gate to the resort hurriedly. Taking Anathil's hand in his again, he reluctantly led her through the security check, and they could already see a portal open next to Valmar and Reginald, who didn't even notice them coming. "It was still a fun trip, right?" he asked with a smile.

Exhaling heavily through her nose, she bowed her head forward onto him and whined softly. "Yes...it was still fun," she huffed. "But it should have been more fun. I just want to take you away to a place with no people."

He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to the flight point, where their relatively pampered mounts were waiting. "We're going to make that happen, don't worry."

Her home town awaited them on the other side of the portal, its image wavy and tinted blue. Maybe their parents would tell them to keep on waiting; maybe they wouldn't. Or maybe they could at least be granted a bit of privacy, which was so difficult to come by in a household with her five siblings and aunt. Anxiety built up inside her, but no matter what, she and Tan'jin were committed; she just wished things would be easier than she expected. Taking a deep breath, she put on her happy face as she joined Valmar for last minute preparations.


	11. Last Chance for Love

Unlike the first portal they'd taken from New Auberdine to New Taurajo, the second portal was an easy transition. The climate at Ratchet and Splithoof Heights was one and the same, given the environmental similarities of the Barrens and Thousand Needles, and there was no sense of disorientation when they stepped out onto the other side of the portal. It was already late in the morning when they arrived, and the sunlight had heated up a bit. The foot and wagon traffic in Ratchet was already heavy, like it always was, and Anathil was thankful that they'd at least been ported directly to the new flight point on the upper bluffs of Ratchet where her family's home was situated. From their vantage point, she could see the vast expanse of the port city she called home if she held a hand over her eyes like a visor. It was a beautiful sight, and normally she would have been glad to be back home. Normally.

An attendant at the flight point stepped forward, not at all shocked that three people and their mounts had just entered through an unplanned portal that had materialized out of thin air. "I recognize you two!" the orc woman said not to the traveler's but to Cecilia's hippogriff and Khujand's pterodactyl. Both mounts bowed their heads for a good pat, and even the hippogriff that Tan'jin had ridden seemed friendly and rested. "Where's this one from?" the attendant asked, skipping introductions and moving right on to business.

Always close to animals, Tan'jin gave the hippogriff one last pat. "He's from Orendil's Retreat," he answered.

"Well, as long as I can get him back to Ashenvale, he'll be fine. There will probably be at least a few people traveling there tonight; it's a common route." As the woman spoke almost absentmindedly, she led the mounts to the upper levels of the tall, totem like roost. "I'll have your parents' mounts taken care of," the woman called down to Anathil, once again reminding the youth that her face was familiar to too many people in her city.

Valmar had already stepped outside, carrying a single hand bag with him. "Anathil, your house is just up the lane there. I trust the two of you can find your way?"

She turned and looked, seeing the estate that she'd grown up in just a few properties down, the elven arches looming over the horizon. What usually seemed like her safe haven now signaled the end of what still felt like a missed opportunity to her. "Of course, mister Valmar," she forced herself to chuckle. "And thanks for everything; you really helped out so much with this trip."

"Don't mention it. You know that I'll always do anything to help both families out. And Tan'jin, whenever you figure out if you'll be staying here longer or traveling out for business again, do drop by for a visit, alright?"

"Of course, mister Valmar," Tan'jin replied politely. Anathil could read the anxiety in his tone, though their undead companion seemed oblivious. Waving a final time before turning away, the well dressed undead man walked toward the earthen ramp zig zagging down the side of the bluff, disappearing from view in between the numerous red tiled roofs that were crowded the whole way down to the lower levels of the city.

The two of them walked at a snail's pace away from the flight point, letting their hands brush againt each other without actually clasping. The nervous energy between them was of a different nature than what it had been at the beach in Thousand Needles and the marsh in Darkshore; they were both resolved to tell their parents about how they felt, but the lingering worry that they'd be told that they were too young pricked at them both. Letting out a self deprecating laugh, Anathil tried to let go of some of the tension she'd been holding on to.

"It really shouldn't be such a big deal," she sighed. "We love each other. We want to be together. Our parents should be happy."

Tan'jin looked at the ground as he walked next to her. "I know," he said, sounding a little unconvinced. His parents were the more conservative pair, and due to the circumstances surrounding their own relationship, were the more likely half of the older generation to encourage them both to exercise more caution.

With every step Anathil's house grew closer, and her apprehension increased a little bit more. It wasn't a big deal, she tried telling herself. She and Tan'jin had crushed on each other since childhood, and no matter what, they'd both wait. She repeated it all in her head like a mantra until the shadowy figure that usually represented the warm, caring pair of arms she'd turn to came into view ahead. In broad daylight, she didn't see quite so well unless her back was to the sun, but her mother's silhouette was unmistakeable. Smiling and waiting in a way that could be described as eager - or at least, as eager as someone who was twelve thousand years old could be - Cecilia looked upon her daughter with a visible swell of pride.

"Hi mama."

"Greetings, misses Hearthglen!" Tan'jin chirped, always respectful in the presence of her parents even when he was blue in the mood. "We have good news!"

Slow and steady as someone who had lived so long would naturally be, Cecilia still displayed an uncanny zest for the present and a genuine interest in Anathil's success and development that the young lady could sense. "I expected as much," Cecilia replied, her lips creaking into a smile as she spoke in her low, husky tone. She eyed Anathil up and down and radiated nothing but kindness, which should have warmed her daughter's heart more than it did. "Your herb bag's flap is being poked up by a material...flimsy but brittle, like parchment."

Anathil's eyes grew wide. "Mom, how can you tell?"

"Trust me...I've had plenty of time to learn how to notice small details," her mother replied again. There was an undertone of insinuation in her voice, and against rational thought, Anathil became even more nervous.

"Y-yes, of course mama...here." Flipping the bag open, she pulled out two separate and signed contracts for exactly what Anjula had initially told Anathil the customers were interested in. Cecilia viewed both documents with a cursory glance before nodding for her daughter to slip them back into the bag.

"I had no doubt that the two of you would succeed. All of us are proud. And Tan'jin, your parents are asleep in the guest bedroom downstairs, but I'm sure they'll want to celebrate your success." Turning away from them ever so subtly, Cecilia pointed in the general direction of the park and recreation area in Ratchet - minuscule compared to the trade and industrial districts, but peaceful all things considered. "If you could, the drink vendor who hangs around the public garden was selling cactus punch yesterday."

Smiling but confused, Tan'jin appeared to be conflicted by both the obedience to authority he'd been raised with and his knowledge of work schedules in the port city where he'd spent large parts of his childhood on and off. "But...misses Hearthglen, doesn't that guy not show up with his cart until afternoon?" he asked.

Smiling warmly as always, Cecilia tilted her head in that direction once more, kindly but firmly. "You never know what surprises lay in store," she told him flatly.

"Oh...okay, then. Is it alright if I leave my bags here behind the gate?"

"You're a guest, Tan'jin!" she chortled lightly. "Leave your bags wherever you like."

"Alright, thanks so much misses Hearthglen!" After setting his bags down just behind the arched wall of the estate, he turned and hurried down toward the lower parts of the city. He looked back at Anathil a few times, almost apologizing for leaving her without him but always diligent in fulfilling the wishes of their elders.

Alone with her mother, Anathil froze up, realizing that she was without Tan'jin's support for the big talk they'd been planning. Pressure mounted as she worried that if they waited too long, they'd become even more stressed out over what should be a joyous occasion for both families. She smiled worriedly, and suddenly felt completely exposed and lost as she realized that everything she was feeling was written right on her face.

Cecilia took Anathil by the wrist and pulled her close. Everything about the ancient elf's demeanor spoke of comfort and acceptance, making the young lady feel even more foolish for her anxiety.

"Anathil."

Looking up at her mother, she found that the slightly faded glow in Cecilia's eyes hadn't decreased in its intensity, and Anathil felt as if every part of her soul were laid on a table for the most important role model in her life to view. Embarrassed and almost a bit guilty, she fought a losing battle against the frown threatening to peel the sheepish smile off of her lips.

"Yes, mama?"

Cecilia continued staring at her daughter, holding her wrist with a gentle but unmoving grip. "How are you?" she asked almost nonchalantly.

Fast as lightning, about half the tension that had tightened up in Anathil's chest unwound itself, and she laughed at the situation. "I'm fine, mama."

"Really?" her mother asked after a few more seconds spent inspecting her every feature.

"Yes, I feel great, actually. You know, Tanny and I - I mean Tan'jin - we enjoyed our trip together. Well, together with mister Valmar, you know. And we made a great team when we were negotiating, and it was all so much fun."

"Slow down and breathe, sweetie." The two of them stood for a few more seconds, and Anahtil fought the urge to fidget in her mother's grip. "How are you?" Cecilia finally asked a second time.

"Mama, I'm fine!"

"Anathil."

"Mama!"

Instead of going back and forth with her, Cecilia stared at her again before pulling her into a hug and patting her back. "Tell me."

No mother could more easily break down the will of the young like a night elf mother. In a few words, Cecilia had pushed even more than what many other parents would have needed weeks of prodding to do. There was something intangible about it, something that neither Anathil nor her siblings could ever explain, but they all knew it was very, very real. Relenting, she leaned back and looked up at her mother and told the truth.

"Ever since we were young, Tan'jin and I always had crushes on each other. Many times we were separated because his parents are always going back and forth, but we always kept on thinking about each other and nobody else. And maybe it seems silly but even when we were kids, we knew that we just clicked together really well. I thought that maybe it would go away when he began studying in Moonglade full time five years ago, but I could never forget about how I felt.

"And then you guys told me about this trip and I got excited because I've barely seen him since he went to study. I just thought it would be this fun thing, plus he's hot, so it was like a cute bonus that would just make for a good overall trip. But then in the past...well, it was almost a week, so many old feelings came back but different. We're older now and those feelings are stronger, and they're, like...they feel like they could be long term. When I saw him I just felt like time stopped, and when we talked with each other I felt like time disappeared too quickly. And I was wound up because I didn't know if it was just infatuation, but mama, I _know_ that it's not just that.

"But we're still so young and we know that you guys are all so...well, you're older than us, and dad has given me the lecture before on how you and him work out because you were technically older before immortality started, so when it ended you're basically ageing like any other race and you and him match up perfectly, but me and everybody else in our family are going to live for hundreds of years and we have plenty of time to decide so we shouldn't rush into anything. And I just got so afraid, because the feelings are so intense but maybe we're just chasing after nothing because you guys will tell us to wait and be patient because we have most of our lives left to live.

"But mama...mama, I know he's the one! Maybe I'm silly for saying that but I'm mature for my age, and I know what I feel. And every day we were together I just got more worried that we can't express anything because you or his mom will find out and tell us that we're being reckless and immature, and maybe even send him away because you want us to grow up a little more. And...and..."

Finally Anathil paused, looking up to her mother and almost panting she'd gotten so worked up. "And I love him, mama. It isn't as deep as the love of people who have been together for decades, but I know I love him and he loves me. And the thought that we'll just be told to wait hurts so much."

The whole time, Cecilia didn't stop smiling, nor did she even really move or shift position much. Fear pulled at Anathil's mind as she realized that someone as old as her mother could easily hide her true reactions, and the feeling of being seen as a fool practically slapped her across the face.

But when her mother only chuckled at her and hugged her again, the fear flowed out of her so quickly that she almost became weak in the knees.

"Anathil...I pushed Anjula for this arrangement for a reason," her mother told her softly while releasing her from the hug. "You're correct in that what you feel isn't as deep right now, because you really are young. But I knew that you felt it because I saw what you wrote about him in your diaries."

"Mama!"

"I'm your mother, I'm allowed to do that. I found it cute, and I still do, because I know that however intense you think your feelings are, they aren't at the level they'll be at given more time. But if there's anybody I feel comfortable with, it's the son of a family who have been very close to us since before you were even born, and whom we trust enough to do business with. In a way, I almost hoped for this, and if I didn't then trust me: there's no way you and him would have been allowed to go on such a trip, even if Valmar or even auntie Irien accompanied you."

Touched almost beyond the ability to speak, Anathil's brain was a mish mash of utter shock, relief and disbelief. She felt light headed and was almost suspicious at how open and accepting her mother sounded. "I feel like such a stupid girl," she laughed, mostly at herself, while looking down at her feet.

Kissing her on the forehead, Cecilia laughed and took her daughter's bag. "You're not a stupid girl, just a young one." After releasing Anathil from her grip, she gave the young lady another good look over and that sense of pride glowed in her faded, ancient eyes again. "Go."

If there was one statement Anathil truly had a hard time believing, it was that one. At first she thought her mind was playing tricks on her, but the wry smile at the corner of her mother's mouth said otherwise. "W-what?" she blurted out.

Walking through the naturally grown wooden gate of the family estate, Cecilia almost appeared to be teasing her daughter. "Well, do you want to tell him the news that the family isn't opposed to you two being together, or should I?"

"But...what about his mom?"

"She already suspects the reason I suggested this trip to her in the first place. Don't worry; she'll come around." Before leaving, Cecilia shot her one last glance. "Better hurry up before that drink vendor actually shows up to work in that empty garden."

Just like that, her mother disappeared behind the gates, leaving Anathil alone and without any bags to carry. The entire conversation had been surreal and nothing like what she expected, and her toes almost felt numb at first. Blinking, shaking her head and questioning her own perception of her mother's words, her stupor was only broken by the fog horn of a random shop at dock, reminding her that the sun was out already.

"Thanks, mama!" Anathil cried as she turned and sprinted toward the earthen ramp leading down the bluff.

And down that bluff she ran. Through the upper class neighborhoods she ran. Past the corner store run by a quilboar family she ran, through the streets lined by greasy goblin restaurants she ran. Over gutters and behind rickety fences she ran, past the bruisers and the merchants she ran. Heart pumping, head spinning, mind racing, Anathil ran.

Within minutes, she saw the public garden that was walled in by a tall wall of hedges, breaking straight through rather than using the proper entrance, and pushing through the maze pattern that marked the empty public gathering place before the mid morning crowds wandered in.

Innocent and unaware, Tan'jin stood in the clearing just outside one edge of the hedge maze, staring at the empty spot where the weird goblin with a lazy eye sold all sorts of drinks at a cart. Nobody was to be seen, and the noble guardian druid in training was completely unprepared for the shadow priestess that was barreling right in his direction.

At the very last second, he turned and saw her coming, a look of pure shock and surprise in his face. "Thanil, what are - oomph!"

She tackled him through the bushes, pushing him to the ground and finally expressing what they'd failed to express during their trip, comfortable knowing that her mother had subtly given her the nod to spend time with him away from the household.

And it was a good thing Anathil had managed to reach him before the regular morning crowds congregated at the garden...because they did EVERYTHING.

 **A/N: if it's too cheesy and cutesy, keep in mind that it's supposed to be.**

 **Just one more chapter. Get ready for fluff.**


	12. A New Stage

_Three years later_.

Anathil tried to adjust the silver gown in the mirror for the tenth time. "I'm surprised we found a dress appropriate for the occasion, all things considered," she told her mother as she tried to shift the gown to hang off her shoulders just right. "Nobody really did the whole wedding thing for the entire Long Vigil, right?"

Her mother continued grinning at her in a way Anathil had never seen the ancient elf do before, completely enamored in the elaborate Darnassian dress her daughter had worn for the ceremony. "We had no use for such rituals when the men slept and most of us were single and, you know, never dying," Cecilia replied as she leaned against the bureau at the other side of the small dressing room. The main temple at Astranaar wasn't originally designed to host wedding processions, but the family made things work out. "But we did to weddings before the Sundering. And ever since we became mortal again, a lot of those old rituals have become more popular than they originally were." After a few more minutes spent watching her daughter with a mushy look on her face, Cecilia walked across the room and started playing with her hair.

"Mama, it's fine!" Anathil chortled.

"I'm so proud of you," Cecilia beamed as she inspected the silver dress more suited to a priestess of the moon than a priestess of da voodoo like Anathil. "I really couldn't think of a better match than you two."

"I almost can't believe it's real. He used to draw pictures of me when we were kids, and he got really upset when Issa painted a mustache in me."

"Your sister is absolutely ecstatic for you, whether she admits it or not," Cecilia said. "All of us are. I'm especially happy that Navarion made it back in time."

Anathil grinned mischeviously. "You know, Navarion did way, way worse stuff than you would have ever allowed me and Tan'jiin to do."

Tilting her head back in shock, Cecilia almost didn't know what to make of her daughter's sudden upstart attitude before the young lady began to laugh. "Excuse you, your father and I never allowed Navarion to do bad stuff; he got in trouble every time."

"I'm just joking, mama!"

"Good. Because you're the spoiled one in the family, and we always knew to expect you to...behave."

"I'm not spoiled," Anathil mumbled with a mock pout.

Just then, a knock came at the door. "Mom, Thanil, everybody is ready to walk to the dinner," came the voice of Issinia, Anathil's middle sister and an aspiring priestess of the moon herself.

"We're ready, tell them we're ready!" Cecilia replied while ushering her oldest daughter toward the door. "Come on, sweetie. No need to keep everybody waiting now that the official part is done."

"Of course, I'm starving!"

The storage closet that had doubled as a changing room opened directly to a side entrance of the temple. Issinia was waiting just outside in a similar - but less ornate - dress. Biologically descended from their parents, she was a curious mix of both races, and added to the odd bunch that was their diverse family. Although the two of them had fought throughout childhood, dried tears shed during the ceremony and staining Issinia's cheeks were more indicative of how they actually felt about each other, even if they teased each other incessantly.

"You look awful," Anathil joked as the three women walked out of the forested temple compound and onto the side street of one of the largest night elven cities in the world.

Smiling angrily in defiance for a second, Issinia held her tongue. "This is your big day, but as soon as your honeymoon is over you're going to get it," she warned as they joined the colorful crowd waiting for the new bride.

"I'll get your goat!"

The procession had been relatively small, but even with so few people, the range of races and creeds was impressive. Anathil and her youngest brother, Tiondel, were both adopted and looked like full blooded night elves (though the fel runes they both had tattooed on their bodies clashed with their skin and hair colors). Their other four siblings were very obviously a mix between their night elven mother and jungle troll father; just a few decades ago, her father had experienced legal difficulty gaining entry to night elven towns for the first time, though such discrimination was unthinkable now save for the most remote of backwater villages.

Standing nearby were her two aunts. Well, Irien was sort of her aunt - in the sense that she cohabited with Cecilia and Khujand and helped raise her. She bore no blood or marital relations to the family, though, despite being the third major role model in Anathil's life. Unelia was the adopted young lady's 'biological' aunt in the sense that she was Cecilia's blood sister, and basically looked like a much shorter carbon copy of Anathil's mother. Proving that the family had very little racial boundaries, Unelia had married a human - being perhaps the first night elf to every marry outside the race - and Anathil's uncle Johan's pink skin and blue eyes stood out in the crowd even when standing next to the the two children he and Unelia had conceived.

In the middle of it all was Tan'jin, as mixed looking as Anathil's siblings and cousins as he stood next to his parents. The Cenarion Circle wasn't in the business of officiating weddings, but they did have a form of official wear for certain gatherings, and he wore it well - an ankle length tunic of green and brown trims that looked very domesticated compared to the leathers and furs his class normally wore.

Though his mother was of a dark troll tribe that had sworn allegiance to the Sentinels long ago, she was still obviously different from his night elven father, and even quite different looking from Khujand. If anything, the Bowleaves were the less outlandish looking family in the middle of Sentinel territory, though they were all a part of the colorful mix that had produced the new union recognized that day. Even Valmar, despite the night elven discomfort around the undead, had made a point to dress his best and attend, and given how mixed the group already was, he really didn't stand out that much. It was a weird, wonderful bunch of people that had all come for the private family ceremony, and she wouldn't have her wedding any other way.

As she stood before Tan'jin, elated and giddy after the formal part of the ritual, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. All eyes were in the two of them, including those of her delinquent brother Navarion who almost looked ready to tear up like Issinia had despite his excessive machismo.

Reaching his hand forward for hers, Tan'jin broke the silence and the formality. "Shall we, then?" he asked, blushing a bit himself.

Letting her dainty hand lie in his, she felt butterflies swarming in her stomach despite the fact that they'd already lost their virginity to each other in a public park three years prior. "We shall," she chirped, blushing and grinning so much as she did that she had to break eye contact from all the dizziness swirling in her head.

En masse, the group strolled down the street toward a restaurant her uncle Johan and booked for them. The temple had no hall specific for weddings and her aunt and uncle's house weren't quite large enough to hold them all, thus forcing them to find another venue. Not that anybody minded; for a small family affair, a restaurant was fine. And how appropriate it was: the place was a fusion restaurant sporting international cuisine and cooks from all different factions, in addition to seasonings and herbs that the Hearthglens and Bowleaves shipped there weekly. Various locals and passersby wished the two newly weds good health and glad tidings, giving only a few curious stares in the direction of Khujand or Valmar before looking back at the happy couple and bowing.

Once inside the restaurant - her uncle had booked the entire party pavilion for their family - the group went from pleasantly cooing at the new couple to raucously engaging in about a dozen different discussions across the table. One might say it was a noisy affair for an elven community, though at holidays and processions such as weddings, many of the social rules were bent, and none of the locals found it particularly strange.

For such a small group, they were all quite chatty. Over the next few hours as they are three courses, Anathil ended up talking to five different family members across the table as people entered and left discussions at will. The specific things everybody said weren't what she'd remember so much as the feelings they all shared.

At one point, Tan'jin had been pulled away when a debate between Johan and Valmar began over some political thing in newspapers that Anathil never read, and his seat was promptly stolen by Issinia. Another debate broke out over whether a priestess was a better vessel for change via the power of the moon or the loa, disrupted only when Navarion inadvertently knocked a drink of the table while laughing deeply in a way that reminded Anathil of Kalcheck. By the time Tan'jin had claimed his seat again, the sun had almost risen and a few people had even returned to the treehouse where her aunt and uncle were hosting everybody in spite of (or perhaps because of) the cramped/cozy conditions, depending on one's view.

Putting his arm around her without needing to worry about how their families would react, he leaned in close to whisper in her ear.

"This night really has been beyond what I could have dreamed before," he whispered to her.

Her ear twitched at the way his breath tickled her skin, and she had to remind herself that they were still in public. "Me too, Tanny," she whispered back. They turned to look into each other's eyes, and what looked back at her was the accumulation of years spent growing up together. He knew her, knew everything about her, knew all of her habits and preferences; he knew her even better than some of her siblings. It all felt so disgustingly cute that she actually pinched her own leg just to be sure that she wasn't dreaming. "I love you," she said in Zandali, feeling the words more strongly that way.

His hand enclosed hers entirely, and she could feel it tremble again even after three years spent together. "I love you too, sweetheart."

 **A/N: I know, it's a little bit over the top in terms of cuteness and perfect family relations. But writing it made me happy. :)**

 **For those interested in seeing more of this family, then I have stories of their adventures saved on my cloud and hard drive that will last at least two more years if I post a chapter a week from two stories a week. Stay tuned every Saturday (starting from this very next Saturday) for more stories and updates.**


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